The Robbed That Smiles
by JeichanHaka
Summary: Alt-timeline: Three years after Ragnarok: The Asgardians are living on earth, getting on relatively well with their human neighbors, and things are pretty peaceful on Earth or at least as much as it can be with the God of Mischief around. That is until someone claiming to be from a parallel universe appears, claiming to be her universe's version of the God of Lies and Mischief.
1. Chapter 1

**The Robbed That Smiles**

**Chapter One**: The Beginning

* * *

Schhh...Clink!

The sound of the wrist irons being clamped down echoed in the hotel foyer, silencing the mischief god's mirthful retelling of the latest trick he'd pulled. A moment passed and then another, before either Loki or the guests he'd been regaling reacted. The latter's response was to sidle away uncomfortably after a minute, while the former simply frowned at his older brother.

"Really?" Loki raised an eyebrow and sighed, automatically testing the irons clamped to his wrists. It was unlikely, but part of him hoped that the handcuffs were fake and that this was the set up to some elaborate prank. After all Midgard's yearly mischief day was approaching and Thor's human friends kept insisting on including the Asgardians in Midgardian traditions. "What have I done now?"

"Don't." Spoke Thor, shaking his head and sighing exasperated at his brother. "You know why."

Loki contemplated for a moment, before shaking his head. "Can't say that I do. Perhaps you can enlighten me to what I've done wrong this time, brother?" The mischief god asked, following along beside his brother as Thor led him towards the hotel doors. "Last time it was shouting 'fire!' in that building with the seats and large screen and the puffy corn."

"Popcorn." Thor muttered, correcting his brother's word choice out of habit. Ever since Asgard was destroyed and the Asgardians had to resettle on Earth, Thor found himself being teacher and guide to his people. Such that he corrected his brother without thinking.

Loki scowled, tensing at being treated like an ignorant child at lessons. "I knew it was called that."

Thor rolled his eyes, leading his brother to the Avengers transport van that had over the past few years been used to transport Loki more than anyone else. One or two of the Avengers had even cheekily dubbed it the 'Loki Apprehension Vehicle,' going so far as to paint those words onto the van. Until Loki, apprehended for some misdemeanor level of mischief, had noticed and quipped about going to the 'Lav.' With a straight face.

It took a moment and reread for Stark to have the van logo changed back to its previous one. It took over a year for Loki to get tired of the joke - especially with how it annoyed certain of the Avengers. Thor was one of those least affected, though mostly because it reminded him of how his brother used to be as a child. Before envy twisted him. Sure, even as a child Loki used to do things like disguise himself as a snake and stab Thor in some misguided game, but his younger brother had done so for laughs. Laughs and attention, rather than to cause any real harm.

"How was I to know it was against Midgardian laws? You didn't even know." Loki continued, referring to an occasion seven months back when the mischief god had yell 'fire' in a crowded cinema. That prank had escalated quickly, very quickly and if it hadn't been due to Stark helping to negotiate community service and a fine, Loki would've been exiled from another Midgardian country. (The first being Norway where the displaced Asgardians had settled, the second being the UK. Then China. He'd been unofficially exiled from New Asgard since his first week on Earth.)

"This isn't about the cinema incident." Thor said after pushing Loki onto the back passenger seat of the van.

"I know." Loki muttered, taking one look at Banner already sitting in the seat behind the driver's and sat down. In the middle seat, knowing from previous experience that his brother would be sitting on the other side, preventing him from reaching either door. "If it were, you'd also be on the hook. You 'encouraged' that prank according to the Midgardian judge when you failed to discourage me shouting 'fire' when only you, I, and the Warriors Three were in the cinema."

"..." Thor frowned, rubbing his forehead above his eyepatch, a headache starting to pulse.

"You encouraged that?" Banner questioned, looking over at Thor.

Though all the Avengers knew about the cinema prank incident, only Stark and Rogers knew that Thor had been deemed partially at fault. Or that the Warriors Three had also been charged same as Loki, having encouraged the mischief by laughing along with the prankster; only stopping when Midgardians ended up hurt in their panicked rush outside. Their punishment had been being sent back to New Asgard and being forbidden to travel outside it for six months a piece. The Midgardian judge had wanted to do the same with Loki, but couldn't due to Loki having no 'home country' other than the US at the time. (Thankfully that judge hadn't known of Loki's Jotunn heritage, otherwise the Midgardians may have demanded the mischief god sent to Jotunheim.)

"I...didn't know it was…"

"Illegal? Wrong? Potentially dangerous?" Banner said, attention focused on Thor. The thunder god frowned but said nothing, offering no excuse. Banner sighed and shook his head. "I'm starting to suspect Loki is not the only one at fault for his behavior."

"I'm right here." Loki growled, eyes gleaming with annoyance. "Mind including me in your conversation which clearly involves me?" There was a pause, during which Banner glared at Loki wordlessly. The mischief god gulped, remembering his previous encounters with the man and his 'green guy' alter-ego. "...you're not still annoyed from that prank last week?"

"Of course not. Like I'd be annoyed you created an illusion of the city being destroyed and making me think I did it." Banner spat sarcastically.

"I…" Loki fumbled over what to say, his first instinct was to say it was just a prank and that Banner should lighten up. That instinct was curtailed by a survival one and the painful memory of going up against the other guy. "I apologize and will not do that again, you have my word."

Banner just gave Loki a look, one that screamed '_yeah, right'_ but also held the threat of 'you _better_ not.' Sensing the hostility, the memory of being crushed by the 'other guy' playing in his subconscious, Loki turned to his brother. At least Thor knew his sense of humor and mischief, and while his brother could beat him senseless in a fight, Thor wouldn't kill him over a prank.

"So...care to tell me what I've done this time to be transported in this l…."

"Don't even dare call it the 'lav.'" Came Spark's voice from the front of the van through the video-radio dashboard. In order to be able to curtail Loki's antics whenever the mischief maker went too far, while also maintaining enough Avengers at the ready in case of true hostiles, Stark had fitted the van with self and remote driving capabilities.

"...lovely vehicle?" Loki asked, smirking at getting the playboy billionaire to call the van by the short-lived moniker. "I assume something serious if you're sending the Ban-Hammer." He quipped, gesturing from Banner to Thor as he spoke. His eyes got a more mischievous gleam to them when someone on Stark's end laughed.

"Loki…." Thor sighed and rubbed the skin around his eyepatch, starting to lose his battle against the headache pulsing there. "You can't seriously not know why you're in trouble."

"Because of a prank." Loki replied flippantly, stating the obvious, and earning groans and eyerolls in response. "I'd just like to know which…." He fell silent as the direction the van was heading clicked, and a smug, mischievous grin appeared on his face. It became more pronounced the closer they got to their destination and the enormous statue.

"That. That is why." Thor scowled, pointing towards the Statue of Liberty. Or what was supposed to be the Statue of Liberty, but was now a gigantic statue of Loki.

"Oh...that." Loki drawled, keeping his grin subdued as he spoke. "Wonder how that got there."

"Very funny." Banner muttered, not at all amused.

"Care to explain why you replaced Lady Liberty with a statue of yourself?" Stark asked through the video-radio dashboard.

"...I look better?"

"As a statue? Yes, I am starting to think you would be better as just a statue." Stark retorted, the last of his patience fizzing out. His thinly disguised threat causing Thor to protest in defense of his brother. "So do a lot of people down here in Washington. I've been informed that if you don't fix this in the next 30 minutes, you're going to be spending the rest of your life in a subterranean base in Antarctica."

"That's one of Midgard's polar caps, right?"

"Yeah. And I already informed the president you'd be able to survive there easily, Frosty."

Loki glowered, his good humor gone at the nickname born from the avenger learning of his Frost Giant heritage. Taking a few more moments to weigh his options, including one in which he eliminated the billionaire and took over the avengers, Loki shrugged and lifted his bound wrists. "Fine. Take these off and I'll get to it."

"No. Spell comes off first, then cuffs."

Loki laughed uncomfortably. "What spell? My magic's dampened." He showed his forearms, indicating the iron cuffs, which had been made to curtail his magic.

"Wha…DON'T TELL ME YOU _ACTUALLY_ REPLACED THE FUCKIN' STATUE OF LIBERTY WITH AN _ACTUAL_ FUCKIN' STATUE OF YOURSELF!"

"Of course not." Loki replied, calming Stark down a mite and smirking when he heard Rogers chastising Stark about his language. "My statue stands regally above all. It's not doing anything so vulgar as 'fucking.'"

"Loki!" Thor gaped at his brother, his head pounding like all the armies of the dead were stomping around in his skull. "You…."

"You FUCKIN' idiot!" Stark hollered. "Thor, I know Loki's your brother, but I am going to build the strongest fucking prison and drop him into the ocean. Or a volcano."

"Loki. Come on. Undo your spell."

"It's not a spell." Loki replied, calmly. Once more showing the iron cuffs around his wrists. He looked at Thor, asking him wordlessly to take off the shackles. "Thor. Brother. I won't be able to restore the statue in 30 minutes. I can cast an illusion spell to make it seem restored though. At least until it is."

Thor ground his teeth, about ready to deny Loki the opportunity to fix the prank so the mischief god would have to suffer the consequences. In the end he sighed and unlocked the cuffs. "Fine. But you're not going anywhere until the statue is actually restored."

"All right." Said Loki, already waving his hand, turning the statue of him back into Lady Liberty. Seeing this Thor sighed in relief, his headache a bit less biting and Banner visually relaxed, leaning back in his seat. "A bit dull. But if the Midgardians prefer it…" The mischief god shrugged, the next second teleporting from the van before either his brother or Banner could react.

* * *

0000000000000

Stephen Strange frowned, one of the ancient one's forbidden tomes laid open on the table. Quietly he read it, aided in understanding the archaic script by his photographic memory and experience with the other tomes. His magic was also a boon for reading this particular book - although written in Sanskrit script, the language was odd, as though it was written in code. Or some obtuse form of poetry and metaphor.

On top of that, the text itself kept changing. Whenever he wasn't looking directly at a word or sentence, it seemed to exist as a jumbled mess of multiple words. Like some kind of literary Schrodinger's cat. His magic helped to slow the jumble, so that the constant changing of words didn't overwhelm his peripheral vision, or give him a headache. Though he couldn't shake the suspicion that he was missing out on a lot by doing so. This book was one that required manual reading in order to truly absorb its knowledge, it was regrettable that he didn't have enough time to study it at leisure.

'_Well, that isn't entirely true.' _Strange thought and glanced towards the display holding the Eye of Agamotto. He considered briefly using the Infinity Stone's time magic on the tome, but dismissed the idea. Even if the use of time magic wasn't dangerous, he suspected that reversing or pausing time on the Schrodinger-esque script wouldn't give him the effect he wanted. It could even backfire.

Ttrrring!

The alarm trilled through the Sanctum, pulling Strange's attention away from the tome. The sound indicating the intrusion of a non-Sanctum cleared sorcerer into the building, albeit one that wasn't necessarily hostile. That alarm was much different and made to be silent except to Sanctum resident wizards.

Brow furrowing, Strange opened a magic window beside him to check on who his visitor was - and immediately rolled his eyes. Not even bothering to close the ancient tome with the Schrodinger text, he teleported Loki to the library. Right across the table.

"Wh…." The mischief god scowled, barely able to stop himself from falling face forward on the hardwood floor. Even though he'd expected it the moment he entered the building, being teleported by Doctor Strange's magic was disorienting. Something Loki suspected was done purposely to annoy him. Or perhaps as payback over when he'd attacked New York years ago. "You don't have to do this every time."

"I disagree. Just last week you tried 'borrowing' one of the books in the forbidden section of the library. And that was after you asked to 'look at' the Eye of Agamotto." Strange crossed his arms and beheld the trickster with a piercing gaze. "If it wasn't for your brother vouching for you, I'd block you from even touching the Sanctum door, let alone entering through it."

Loki scowled and rolled his eyes, grumbling at the acknowledgment that his brother was the reason Strange tolerated him in the Sanctum library. Strange simply continued gazing at the mischief god, his expression bored and also highly observant.

"I assume you're here to lay low while your brother and Stark smooth things over after your most recent bout of mischief." The wizard drawled and with a wave of his hand, blocked off access to the more dangerous and powerful books in the library. Only the more innocuous volumes were left accessible to the trickster's peruse.

"Seriously." Muttered Loki, not surprised but still annoyed by Strange hoarding away most of the interesting parts of the collection. "There's no need to treat me like a child that may accidentally burn the house down."

"I know." Countered Strange. "I'm treating you like an adult who may deliberately burn the house down and call it a prank." He waited, barely reacting to the glower Loki gave; the next moment the mischief god shrugged and took one of the remaining books from its shelf.

"I don't know why you bother. It's highly unlikely that the Libraries on Asgard didn't have the equivalent or superior volumes on their shelves. Thus I already know all this 'dangerous information' you're trying to keep from me." Loki mumbled, skim reading through the book in his hands. His pretense of indifference didn't fool Strange, who noticed the mischief god side-glancing over at his own open book.

"If that's what you think, you're free to check out the city library." Strange retorted, returning his attention to the forbidden volume in front of him. "But I assume the people of New York won't be too happy seeing you after today's statue switcheroo. And yes, I know about it."

Loki started to respond but then just shrugged, and sat down against the shelf, returning to his book. It may have been more becoming to sit at a table or desk, but he generally preferred reading in a more relaxed position. "...what did you think?"

"Of what?"

"Me beating you to it."

Stephen Strange blinked and closed the book he was reading, turning his attention back to the trickster. "You're saying you switched the Statue of Liberty with a statue of yourself, just to throw a wrench into my and Wong's similar plan for an April's Fools Day prank?"

Loki nodded. "Yeah."

Strange groaned, and gaped at Loki as though the mischief god was the strangest and most foolish being he'd met. "You do realize that April first is two whole months away?!"

Loki shrugged. "So? It's a Midgardian tradition I can wholeheartedly get behind. That and their Autumn tricks and treats holiday."

The human sorcerer thought a moment, about to correct the mischief god and his misunderstanding, but instead shrugged and returned to his ancient tome. It wasn't his job to explain to the god why pulling an April Fool's Day prank before the actual day was terrible and bound not to be given leeway. His job was simply to protect the Earth, and so far as Thor's brother wasn't planning to or had caused actual harm, he was content to focus on actual threats.

The primary one being the being or beings behind the uncovering of the Infinity Stones in recent years, and more importantly why whoever they were hadn't made a move in years. That was why he currently was pouring over the ancient tome, trying to pin down its Schrodinger script and to make sense of its metaphors.

It had, on his initial skim through, mentioned the stones. But try as he did to pinpoint which page it'd appeared on, Strange couldn't find the mention. He could conjure it in his thoughts thanks to his photographic memory, but the actual page was gone. Like it had never existed. That rankled the human sorcerer more than the inactivity of whatever beings had maneuvered the Infinity Stones into the Avengers' paths.

"...Infinium." Loki muttered, leaning over the table and the book Strange was reading. His own eyes scanning over the pages and narrowing in interest at the fluctuating text, part of which he'd read aloud. His reading of the script was much different than the human sorcerer's and in the back of his thoughts sparked a memory of an Asgardian text he'd read as a child. One about an artifact that changed form often but was mostly seen as either tapestry or tome, with text that was never the same on subsequent readings. "This book…"

"W…." Strange shut the book and glared at the mischief god, wondering how Loki got so close without him noticing. His intense focus on the ancient text was probably to blame. "Go read one of the other books." He gestured towards the bookshelves, essentially shooing the mischief god away.

Loki simply gave Strange a look that said 'you did not just tell me what to do,' although with a bit more attitude. Rather than saying anything, the mischief god grabbed for the book, managing to touch the cover before Strange could warp him away using portal magic.

Brrrclasssh! Bbrrtoomm!

An explosive crashing sound rocked through the building, knocking the book from either man's reach as well as throwing the two sorcerers across the room. Following the first shockwave came similarly powerful tremors whose origin points were widely scattered across the city and outside it.

"Shit." Strange muttered, pulling himself up while Loki uttered similar curses in both English and Asgardian. The tap of footsteps approaching caused both of them to tense and ready themselves for an attack. Stephen Strange in order to defend the city, and Loki for self-preservation.

The owner of the footsteps scoffed as another shockwave rippled through the building, knocking the two sorcerers off balance again. Long enough for her to pick up the ancient tome and skim through it, noting that it was her target.

"Put that back. This isn't a lending library." Strange quipped as Loki lunged at the interloper with knives drawn, and he opened a portal to grab the book back. The human sorcerer's eyes widened when his fingers grasped empty air, passing through the book. That same second, Loki halted his lunge and turned his attack quickly towards a space five feet towards the left where the thief stood.

"Illusions? You really think you'll trick me with such paltry magic?!" The mischief god laughed, seeming about to strike the other when he 'disappeared,' showing off his own illusion magic. He then appeared behind what at first glance seemed to be empty space, but quickly proved to be otherwise as he pressed the blade of one of his knives against the thief's throat. "I'm Loki, of Asgard. Master of…."

"Loki? Your name's Loki?" The thief asked, raising an eyebrow and ignoring Strange taking back the ancient tome. All her attention was focused on the god of mischief, as though the damage to the building and her brief bout against them were afterthoughts. "Child of Laufey?"

Loki scowled at the reference to the father who abandoned him. "Only biologically." He spat, before referring himself as Odinson and god of mischief. "Anyway, if you know I am, you must also know who my brother and his friends are. You and whoever sent you won't get away with this attack."

"..." The thief didn't reply, a peculiar expression on her face. As though digesting information that was difficult and befuddling. Before either sorcerer could say anything, she burst out laughing. The sort of laughter that follows a self-deprecating joke or gallows humor. She muttered, through her laughter. "It was a dimensional rift. Dimensional."

"Is this a joke to you?" Strange approached, his expression one of bewildered anger as he gestured towards the damage inside and outside the building. "You just destroyed a massive amount of the city and you're laughing?"

"Wha...oh." The thief shrugged and gave a quick wave with her hand. Immediately the damage to the building and city outside vanished, to the astonishment to both men. The only part that remained damaged was the wall, the table the two men crashed into, and a few of the bookshelves. "There. Better?"

"Wh…."

"You cast an illusion over the entire city?" Loki asked through clenched teeth, part impressed and part annoyed that he hadn't realized it sooner. He immediately grabbed the thief more firmly and pressed his knife tighter against her neck, both reactions the result of wondering if she was an illusion.

"Hey. It's cool. I'm not going anywhere." The thief replied, tensing as the knife blade nipped at her skin. "And yes. It was pretty much an illusion. Took a lot fucking out of me, too."

"All right." Strange muttered, brimming with a mix of annoyance, impatience and indignation. Within just a motion or two of his hands, he bound the thief with magic binds around her hands and feet. He further secured her above an open portal in the floor at her feet, ready to drop her in an endless pit at the very first attempt at escape. "Who are you? Who sent you? And why are they after the Infinium tome?"

The thief grinned, giving another terse laugh. "No one sent me. I thought to use the book to get home." She paused and swallowed back another chuckle. "As for who I am…" She glanced towards Loki, the mischief god scowling annoyed at Strange easily taking the thief from him. "...you're not going to believe me."

"Try me." Strange replied, glaring at the thief.

The thief in response simply pointed towards Loki.

"Why are you pointing to me?" Loki blinked, confused but also immediately noting the mistrust rising in the human sorcerer's eyes. He bristled and shook his head. "No. I have nothing to do with this woman or her attempt to steal that book. I…."

"That's not what I meant, quim." The thief scowled at Strange, her voice more menacing without laughter. "I am my universe's version of him."

"...Come again?" Strange gaped at the thief, while Loki stared wide-eyed at the woman, searching for evidence of her lying. He blinked and gave his own breathy laugh when he detected no sign of deception.

The thief narrowed her eyes. "Name's Lokki. Goddess of Mischief, last Jotunn, and should be ruler of Asgard, Midgard, and the rest of the Nine Realms." She cocked her head to the side, her sea-hue eyes glaring at the human sorcerer.

* * *

00000000000000000000000000000000

**A/N: I hope you like this. It's my first MCU fanfic.**

**As I'm unsure of how to quickly differentiate Loki from female Loki that doesn't require the constant description of gender except by tweaking the spelling of the name, I opted to use Lokki to refer to the female. (Both spellings are to be pronounced the same, it's just to allow those reading this to be able to quickly discern which is which.)**

**Furthermore, when I started writing this, I hadn't watched Infinity Wars, nor Endgame. (Or even Captain America Civil War). Thus, my writing of canon characters and such are bound to be off, and some of the important plot points of some movies are missing from this. (Namely the break up of the Avengers).**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Robbed That Smiles**

**Chapter 02:**

* * *

_Author's Note: First: This is an alternate-timeline/universe story, so there will be deviations from canon. (I also only watched a handful of the movies and read only some fanfiction. Nothing else.)_

_To make it easier to differentiate between the two Lokis while reading/writing, I chose to tweak the spelling of Loki for the female one (Lokki); I've already written 7 chapters using this spelling for her, but I'm still trying to figure out a nickname for the Avengers to use for her, (since the pronunciation of Loki/Lokki is the same). Or should I just skip the nickname and leave room for 'humorous misunderstandings' to happen?_

_Also, there is a bit of swearing in this and future chapters, but I don't feel it warrants a higher rating than teen. Tell me in a review if you think otherwise._

* * *

"Is this really necessary?"

Loki watched quietly as the professed female version of himself grimaced at the seidr suppressing cuffs around her wrists before turning her sea-green gaze to the Avenger closest to her. Since being captured by him and Strange, the woman had been brought to the closest Avengers building - a holding facility owned and designed by Stark to deal with possible hostiles - where she'd received a welcome filled with an unsurprising degree of suspicion. Her claim to be him from a parallel universe, along with the fact that she attempted theft of a highly dangerous, potentially powerful artifact didn't exactly ingratiate herself with the heroes.

Nor with Loki, who had to deal with his brother and Stark threatening to lock him up since the two had initially thought the city wide illusion was one of his pranks. (Akin to the one he'd pulled on Banner the previous week.) It didn't help that when his female doppelganger dispelled her illusion, she'd also dispelled his earlier fix to the Statue of Liberty. Thus making the idea he was behind the mess more plausible in the minds of the Midgardians and their government.

"Yes, it is. Especially if you are who you claim." Stark replied, pressing some buttons on the array of computers in front of him. The displays depicted, as far as Loki could tell from the glimpses he stole, an analysis of pulse, respiration, brain activity and other vitals of the woman thief. Essentially it was a Midgardian 'lie-detecting' program, and Loki nearly rolled his eyes at the hubris that any version of himself would be flummoxed by such primitive technology. Not even Asgardian-level lie-detectors worked on him.

"I am who I claim to be. Lokki, master of mischief." The female sat back in the interrogation seat, exuding an air of indifference and boredom. Combined with her physical similarities to Loki - longish black hair pulled behind her back, fair complexion and defined cheekbones; piercing eyes that shifted between green and blue - left little doubt that she was connected to the mischief god. Whether she was another universe's version of Loki or a Jotunn relative of his trying to trick them remained to be seen. "Whether you believe me or not…is moot."

"Really? Why is that?" Natasha asked, sitting on a chair in front of Lokki. The two women stared at each other, the former with a mirthless smirk and the latter with a frown although there was a glimmer of amusement in the mischief goddess' eyes that Loki suspected only he noticed. At the very least, Natasha said nothing about it. "Because you think we'll let you go? Or because you're lying and just don't want to admit it kills you that we know it?"

An abrupt laugh was Lokki's answer, the amusement in her eyes spreading to the rest of her face. Its effect was two-fold - making the mischief goddess lose all calculated indifference and causing Natasha to scowl.

"You find that funny?" The assassin-turned-Avenger leaned in closer to Lokki, cold anger in her eyes. Like the other Avengers, she'd been close enough to the City of New York to witness the illusion of it being destroyed, and it put her in a less than tolerant mood. Despite it having been dispelled quickly, she was, as were the other Avengers, completely gobsmacked by how suddenly it happened. It drove home how unprepared they were.

"No." Said Lokki, a smile still on her face, although more subdued as was the glimmer in her eyes. Natasha's scowl deepened, scrutinizing the other, though the next one to speak was Banner who was glaring at Lokki.

"I suppose this is all a joke to you, same as the illusion of the city being destroyed." Banner growled, thinking about the prank Loki had played on him a week prior. The mischief god had created a similar illusion, albeit on a smaller scale, and then proceeded in trying to convince the scientist that the 'green guy' had done it. That prank had nearly driven Banner to first run away in remorse and then to almost kill the god when Loki revealed it was an illusion.

"No." Lokki tensed hearing the scientist, having been unaware of his presence as he'd only recently entered the room and had wordlessly sat to the side. From his vantage point, Loki smirked at his doppelganger's reaction to Banner, privately relishing that the female version of himself had a similar wariness of the 'green guy.' His amusement stemming from bruised pride for falling for the city-wide illusion. It morphed into intrigued as Loki realized it wasn't fear of Banner that Lokki's eyes reflected. It was something else.

"Really?"

"I...I did not mean any harm by it. I only wanted to secure a means home."

"A means home? How would casting an illusion of mass destruction and stealing a book get you home?" The scientist asked and stepped in front of the thief, while Natasha wordlessly backed off having realized, as had Stark and Loki, that Lokki was more responsive to Banner. Unlike the mischief god, the Avengers both assumed it was fear induced.

Loki stepped closer to the interrogation, his gaze locked on his doppelganger and the emotion in her sea-green eyes. It _was_ fear, but wasn't fear _of_ the scientist. The female version of himself seemed wholly unafraid of any of them - even when Stark threatened to imprison her in a volcano while she was being brought to the facility. (Lokki had flippantly boasted at being able to escape easily and had even tried. Strange, in response, had dropped her into another dimension, letting her fall endlessly until they arrived at the holding facility.)

"Well?" Banner crossed his arms, watching the professed goddess of mischief carefully, his vocal tone angry.

It was at that moment Loki saw it, the hurt in the other's eyes. Lasting for only a fraction of a second, he nonetheless saw it. And from that he quickly realized the emotion he read in his doppelganger's eyes. With Natasha it'd been nostalgia. With Banner, worry and then hurt, as though his anger being directed at her was unexpected. Like it cut into her.

"Are you…." Loki approached until he was just feet away from the interrogation, his brain lit by curiosity and arrogance. "The Avengers exist in your universe too, don't they?"

"Loki, what are you..."

"...or they did." Loki amended upon reading the look Lokki gave him at his interjection. Despondence. His own eyes gleamed in a mix of amazement and bewilderment, and he ignored the others protests at his interruption. "What happened to them?"

"Lok…" Stark started to reprimand the mischief maker, only to stop abruptly, his gaze drawn towards the computer readouts of Lokki's vitals. What had been mostly even-keel throughout the questioning had shifted drastically at the mischief god's inquiry. His eyes widened, and he looked at their captive.

Her fair cheeks were much paler, and her eyes colder and more piercing, with a hint of blood-red in the sea-hued irises. And the look on her face - it was fury. Fury and pain, and more fury. All of which was directed at Loki.

'_Damn.'_ Stark muttered under his breath, feeling his heart thumping in his chest and his palms run cold as his body's natural fight or flight response kicked in. _'Note to self. Do not piss off the lady frost giant.'_

Lokki seethed, standing up and glaring at her male counterpart. Her milky skin shifted into azure with raised markings, though a few shades lighter than his own Jotunn form, noted Loki. He also noticed how the seidr cuffs around the other's wrists slowly iced over, the material cracking under the frigid temperature of Jotunn skin.

"...fuck." Gasped Stark, as something started beeping from his computerized vitals scanner. Something that caused him to shout a warning at Natasha and Banner while typing something into the computer.

Loki didn't even have to peek at the computer screen to realize what had alarmed the Midgardian. He felt it. The cold. And in that moment he remembered something Odin had mentioned in one of his tales of the Jotunn-Asgard war.

_-"Frost giants can reach body temperatures cold enough to freeze an enemy through on contact. The females can reach even colder temperatures. Enough to freeze a star, some legends say."-_

"...those cuffs were designed to withstand extremely low temperatures. Right?" Natasha asked Stark, while she backed away, not wanting but preparing for a fight. As did Banner. Seconds later a force-field hummed to life in a circle around Lokki, having been initiated by Stark when he first noticed the dangerously low temperatures around the Jotunn thief.

"Not _this_ low." Stark replied, the seidr cuffs in question visually cracking as he spoke, all but ready to shatter within seconds. That wasn't what was worrisome - after dealing with Loki and his antics for the past few years they knew how to deal with his abilities. Including those from his frost giant heritage. Thus combating a doppelganger of the mischief god wouldn't be too difficult.

Unless her frost giant body temperature got much lower or if the effect it was having on the air temperature around her spread beyond the force-field. None of their fighting skills and such would matter if they were frozen solid before reaching her.

"All right." Stark glanced at the vitals display, exhaling in relief when the temperature read started stabilizing. It still fell but at a much slower rate, assumingly reaching their captive's lowest sustainable temperature. "Now, if you'd..."

"Calm down?" Lokki muttered and approached the boundary edge of the force-field, stopping just short of touching it. There she stood regally with her head tilted to the side and her Jotunn body on full display. Not a stitch of clothing, real or seidr formed, covered her icy blue skin while the shattered remains of the seidr suppressing cuffs lay at her feet. A mischievous smirk tugging at her otherwise inexpressive lips, the goddess leered at the Avengers. "I am calm. Are you?"

"Uh…." Stark glanced over the Jotunn female, merely raising an eyebrow at the nude alien, while Banner turned away and Natasha rolled her eyes. Across the room, Loki gawked at his doppelganger, speechless and feeling strangely violated. "Sorry, but I left my adventurous youth behind years ago and am now in a committed relationshi..." Quipped Stark, before falling silent as Lokki transformed back into her Asgardian form, still without a shred of clothing. His eyes uninhibitedly roamed over her body, a habit from his philandering days.

The mischievous goddess smiled at the Midgardian, pulling back her onyx-black hair and adjusting her stance to allow an unfettered view of...everything. Her sea-hued eyes laughed silently as the overhead lights obliterated any obscuring shadows, allowing Stark full view of her fair-complexioned, smooth skinned Asgardian-form. "Like what you see?"

"What the bloody fucking hell?!" Loki reacted first, attempting to cast his own seidr spell to clothe his doppelganger, but failing as the force-field prevented any magics from passing through it. He then proceeded to cast an illusion spell in front of the force-field, darkening the view of anything below his female self's shoulders. For extra precaution, he expanded it the full circumference of the force-field cage.

"Aw…" Lokki glanced at the illusionary barrier and audibly pouted, though her expression simply showed amusement. Similar to that given by Loki whenever he was caught in the midst of a pulling prank. "You're no fun."

"Fun…?" The mischief god, mouth agape, stared at his female doppelganger, unsure how to respond. Or even what disturbed him more - that it was a female version of _himself_ standing unabashedly naked and flirting with the Avengers or that said female version seemed to view her solicitous behavior as he did his pranks.

"Now that that's remedied," Natasha stepped forward, muttering a 'thanks' to Loki while scowling at the goddess. "Let's get back to interrogating this…"

"Hm?" Lokki narrowed her eyes at the red haired woman, daring the former assassin to finish her sentence. The two women glared coldly at each other, both observing the other, quietly judging and gauging what to say or not.

"...explain how you had a replacement statue already ready." The room door suddenly slid open and through it stepped Thor talking to Strange, with Rogers closely behind. The trio had been sent to deal with smoothing out the illusion scare with the city government as well as figuring out a more permanent fix for the Loki-statue fiasco.

"That is unimportant." Strange countered. "We should focus on what this new Lokki's arrival means and if she has anything to do with the Infin…." He abruptly fell silent as his gaze shifted from Thor towards the others already in the room. Glancing over the force-field around Lokki and the seidr illusion obscuring the view of everything below the Jotunn's shoulders, Strange frowned, his brow knit in curiosity. He hardly had to glance at Stark or the others to deduce what had happened.

"We'll get to that, but why did you already…." Thor said, oblivious to the surgeon-turned-sorcerer's shift in focus. At least until he glanced a second time at the scene greeting them. He'd done so when he'd first entered, but it was so quick his brain hardly registered what he saw. Once he did, he gaped, eyes widened, his eyes shifting between the cage and his fellow Avengers. "What in the…"

"...world?" Standing beside the Asgardian, Rogers quickly averted his gaze from the force-field cage once he realized the female Lokki was sans clothing. Embarrassed even with the seidr screen blocking out all but the thief's head, shoulders, and feet. "Why is she…."

Strange ignored Rogers and Thor, instead walking further into the room, barely fazed by the situation. As he approached, he noted the broken seidr cuffs on the floor by Lokki's feet and cocked an eyebrow. "Seems your interrogation isn't going as smoothly as you boasted it would." The sorcerer said, addressing Stark and referencing a claim the smug inventor had made earlier.

"On the contrary." Stark shook his head, denying Strange's observation. "Things went so smoothly that I offered Miss Frosty here a break to get more comfortable. The lady decided to go _Au Naturel_."

"Really?" Strange asked, not for a moment believing the smug man. Natasha and Banner both rolled their eyes at Stark's claim, while both Lokis gave a similar sardonic leer at the genius inventor. "What have you learned then? Aside from…" The sorcerer glanced at the broken seidr cuffs and then the vitals display, eyes narrowing at the temperature read. "...our friend being able to reach much lower temperatures than…." He glanced again at the cage, focusing on the flooring. Seconds later he grumbled and shook his head.

"Stra…."

"...Than these floors were made to endure." Strange continued, the next second teleporting away before his fellow Avengers could react or question what he meant. As though in answer to their unspoken inquiries, Lokki vanished - or rather the seidr formed illusion she'd cast of herself after her male-counterpart cast his censoring screen around the cage. So too did the floor, at least the part covering the person-wide hole that Lokki had shattered open using her frost magic.

"What the…."

"Did she actually…?"

"Yep." Stark replied, his pride bruised by falling for the female Jotunn's sleight of hand despite being prepared - after all he'd dealt with their universe's Loki's antics constantly for the past handful of years and thus uncovered much of the mischief god's repertoire.

"We should go after her. Hopefully she didn't get far." Said Thor to his fellow Avengers, before addressing Loki, who just stared at the empty cage. "I'm surprised _you_ didn't catch onto her, brother."

Loki didn't respond immediately, and instead just watched the cage, his expression shifting from bewildered to fascinated to amused. His brother's footsteps approaching him pulled him from his silent retrospection. "She...is good. Do you know how precisely she had to cast her spell after mine for me _not_ to notice?"

Thor shook his head, while Stark muttered some off-the-cuff comment about Loki's fascination with his female doppelganger. The mischief god bristled.

"You're the one who couldn't stop looking at her! Not to mention your flirting…." Loki cringed, remembering.

"_She_ flirted. I just played along."

"You…"

"What…?" Thor started to ask but stopped, not wanting to delve into what had occurred or why the female-doppelganger of his brother was naked. He especially didn't want to hear anything about...well, _that_ sort of thing. Especially not about someone who, if she was telling the truth, was essentially his sister, albeit adopted and from another universe. "Let's just go find Lo...sister Lokki, before she causes trouble or casts another city wide illusion."

"You know, calling them both 'Loki' will probably be confusing in the long run." Banner interrupted, cutting off Stark who seemed about to make a quip about Thor calling the female Jotunn 'sister Lokki.' "We should probably find a solution after we find her though."

"After." Thor agreed, while Stark shrugged and stalked off to scan the city for any possible sightings of the female Jotunn. "Brother, let's…."

"I'm going to stay here." Loki said, stepping towards the computer screens that had depicted his doppelganger's vitals. The moment her illusion spell dropped inside the force-field, the computer screen too had changed, as though it had also been magicked by Lokki. Something the frost giantess probably did the second after she broke through the floor. "It's better if you're only looking for one of me." The mischief god explained after sensing Banner and Stark glaring at him.

"Fine." Stark muttered, while Banner indicated he was also staying behind - partly to watch Loki, but mostly because he likely was unnecessary. Although Lokki was an unevaluated threat, she hadn't caused any actual damage (aside from a few bookshelves), thus the 'green guy' wasn't likely needed. "Banner, you know what to do if he tries anything."

Rolling his eyes at the Midgardian, Loki slid onto a chair and picked up what the Midgardians called an e-reader from a nearby table. (After figuring out that a decent book could entertain the mischief god away from pranks, at least for a while, the Avengers had gotten an e-reader for Loki as a Christmas gift one year.) Leaning back in the chair, Loki scrolled through the selection of books available on the e-reader, seemingly uninterested in his brother or the Midgardians.

The moment everyone but Banner left the room, Loki glanced up from the tablet. His lips twitched, pulling into a grin he attempted to subdue, lest the scientist caught on. His gaze swiftly returned to the e-reader screen when he heard Banner move. He remained reading for a while, until he noticed Banner heading toward another computer - the same one Stark had started up to scan the city for Lokki.

Once Banner wasn't facing him, Loki pressed a few keys on the computer closest to him. The same one Stark had used to boot-up the force-field. He, however, now powered it down.

Banner immediately noticed and stood up. "Loki, what the hell are you up to?"

"Clever. She is clever." Loki muttered, ignoring Banner and instead approached the space where the force-field was. He heard Banner repeat his question, voice a bit more irritated, but aside from tensing slightly, he ignored it again. Seconds later, Loki smirked and cast his seidr over the area closest to the broken floor, having caught sight of something.

"I'm warning you, Loki. What…"

"...the fuck!" Growled Loki's female doppelganger, having suddenly reappeared on the floor beside the broken seidr cuffs. A heavy scowl marred her face as she glowered at the mischief god. "You son of a…."

"Hey!" Loki scowled at his doppelganger.

"...bastard." Lokki finished, pushing herself to her feet; her form fully clothed thanks to Loki's spell. One that she decided not to try and dispel. "Ruining a perfectly good escape. Tchk. Clever bastard."

"What the _hell_ is going on?!" Banner exclaimed, eyes darting from one Loki to the other.

"Simple. _Selfie_ here didn't escape through the hole. She transformed herself into a tiny arthropod and hid in the remains of the seidr cuffs." Loki explained, crossing his arms and looking smugly at his doppelganger. "Pretty clever. Except you shouldn't have transformed into a Silver-Hair Basilisk, noticed you right away."

"Basilisk?" Muttered Banner, wondering if he heard the mischief god right.

"It's a type of spider. Native to Asgard and Jotunheim. Its venom is able to petrify insects and small mammals." Lokki replied before her male counterpart, her own arms crossed and jaw pulled taut. "They _have_ been known to make it to other realms, brought along by inattentive travelers of the Bifrost."

Loki shook his head. "Not to Midgard. Not since the Jotunn Invasion and not in this climate - too close to the ocean."

Opening her mouth to refute her male-counterpart, Lokki clammed up and grimaced, realizing her mistake. The Silver Hair spider quickly died if exposed to salt water or salty air. New York City was much too close to the ocean for the arthropod to survive, thus her choice to transform into one was as obvious as strapping a neon sign to herself.

"Yeah, yeah. You got me. Now what?" Lokki muttered, frowning. "Going to call back the calvary? Show off your clever deduction and capture and all that?"

Loki thought a moment, before shrugging and shaking his head. "No. Let's let them look around some. It'll simply make it more hilarious when they return." He turned towards Banner. "Unless Jolly Green Giant here wants to tattletale?"

Banner glowered at Loki, ready to call Stark and the others simply to annoy the mischief god. His determination faltered when he glanced at the female Lokki and saw her pouting at him. Her sea-hued eyes wide and oblique, her bottom lip protruding in an over-the-top frown, Lokki seemed both comical and childlike, and so different than the sarcastic mischief god.

"Please? Just for a little while. Pwetty pwease?" Lokki purred, gazing up at Banner, having lain back down on the floor when she started to beseech the scientist.

"What the flying fuck?!" Loki gawked at his doppelganger, unsure whether he was more uncomfortable seeing this display or seeing his female double flirting with Stark. Banner, to his credit, just rolled his eyes and facepalmed, taking Lokki's pouting no more seriously than Stark had her flirting.

Noticing this, Lokki sat up straight and stopped pouting. Sighing, she shrugged. "I'll answer some questions for you, if you want. Or, I _guess_ I could just go back to flirting with Tony. Hm, that might be fun...You can go call him back now."

"No. Please. No." Loki, wide-eyed, shook his head. A similar expression was on Banner's face.

"All right." Banner replied, muttering to himself before addressing Lokki. "So long as you answer a few questions, and do so truthfully, I'll give you an hour before I call the others back."

"Deal. Where to start?" Lokki asked, sitting down on the closest chair, which was the same one she'd been seated on earlier. Before she got furious and shifted into her Jotunn form. She made sure though, to move the chair just outside the force-field's boundary.

"For starters, are…."

"Why did you get mad when I asked about the Avengers of your universe?" Loki interrupted, scrutinizing his doppelganger, whose severe reaction to his questions earlier had made him cautious but hadn't quelled his curiosity. He peered at her, not afraid but readying one of his knives out of sight as a precaution.

If the female Jotunn was him from another universe, just female rather than male, he understood how she would fight. And though she may have fiercer frost magic than him as a consequence of her sex, he hadn't failed to notice how thoroughly she avoided actual combat, instead focusing solely on illusion magic.

"_Loki_." Banner warned the mischief god, his tone enough to get Loki to flinch on reflex before glaring back.

"What?" Snapped Loki, a sneer on his face that was more a mask than an actual reflection of enjoyment. "You're curious yourself. You can't say you're not, not after witnessing Selfie's reaction earlier. It was over-the-top, even for…" The bite of a knife at his throat quieted the mischief god, and he peered into a pair of eyes identical to his own. His lips twitched, his own knife pressed against his doppelganger's abdomen.

"Oi. Come on you two." Muttered Banner, reaching for his cell phone. His patience running thin, too thin to care about getting answers out of the female Jotunn before anyone else.

Lokki blanched, feeling Loki's blade against her stomach - it was obvious she had expected her male doppelganger to copy her 'knife against the throat' move. Not go for the 'less lethal' abdomen shot. She stared into her double's face, reading it as clearly as her own. The two of them remained quiet for a moment, communicating wordlessly.

"I said…." Banner growled, midway to dialing up Stark. His brow knit when the female Jotunn backed down first, removing her knife against Loki's neck. It disappeared in a puff of smoke. The scientist's eyes narrowed, perplexed, even more so when Lokki returned to her chair without much fuss. "...what?"

For his part, Loki sighed and stared at his doppelganger with a look on his face that for one of the rarest moments in his life, seemed contrite. Uncomfortable with himself. He kept his knife clasped in his hand though, now safely at his side. After a few heavy moments of silence, the mischief god opened his mouth to speak. "Look, I didn't…."

"You want to know that badly?" Lokki spat, avoiding eye contact with both Banner and Loki, her arms folded defensively across her abdomen. "...they died. All of them. Along with most of Midgard and the rest of the Nine realms. Most of the whole fucking universe." Her piercing, furious eyes glared up at Loki, while she reflexively shielded her abdomen, wary of the knife her doppelganger held. "Thanks to those fucking Infinity Stones."


	3. Chapter 3

**The Robbed That Smiles**

**Chapter 03:**

* * *

"The Infinity Stones? The parallel universe this woman claims to be from was devastated by someone using the stones?" Wong muttered, repeating what Strange had just told him but in question form, the result of being befuddled by it. Not the idea of multiple universes - his years of learning from the Ancient One about magic and different dimensions had long dispelled any disbelief of the Multiverse. Nor the thought that the Infinity Stones could be used for such destruction and evil - they were after all extremely powerful, and power was always tempting to those not wise enough to resist its pull. Even the wisest sometimes gave in. (Like the Ancient One's use of magic from the Dark Dimension.) What befuddled him was difficult to pin down, more complex than the separate ideas.

"It appears that is the case." Strange replied, skim reading through a book of old and powerful protective spells. After Lokki's shocking revelation to Banner and Loki, after which she refused to answer any more questions, Banner had called back the other Avengers. (It irked Strange to find out that, contrary to what he'd first thought upon seeing through Lokki's illusion, he _had_ fallen for the goddess' trick. That Loki was the only one not to fall for the layered trick, did little to lessen the doctor's annoyance, and had instead increased it.) To make up for it, he was determined to protect all the Infinity Stones currently in the Avengers' possession.

"You believe her? This female version of Loki?" Asked Wong, following Strange as the other man finished with one book and picked up another. "The god of _lies_?"

"There's few reasons to doubt her, and every reason not to." The surgeon-turned-sorcerer replied, putting back the tome he'd just picked up and meeting Wong's gaze. "The stones are too dangerous not to believe Miss Lokki's claim. Because if someone's devastated her universe with them, then there's probably someone in ours who'd do likewise."

Wong drew in a breath, then nodded in understanding. "The person who's been manipulating events over the past few years to draw out the stones, according to Thor. That person or entity or whatever - they want to use the Stones the same way."

"It's likely." Strange skim-read through another book, this one dealing with various spells and incantations, mostly psionic in nature. Though there were mystic and entropic ones as well. It even included a section about truth and other interrogative spells. "I'll find out more when I question Miss Lokki. There is the possibility that our universe is different enough from hers that we are not in such danger. But I don't hold much hope for that. The Infinity Stones _do_ exist in our universe."

Wong didn't reply and only nodded, agreeing with his fellow wizard. Before either man could say anything further, Strange's cell phone beeped, the text-tone one the surgeon-wizard assigned to those from Stark's number.

"...Thor and Natasha are on their way with Miss Lokki." Strange commented aloud after reading the message, slightly curious. Not about the female Jotunn being brought to the Sanctum - until Stark managed to reinforce the walls and floors at his containment facility to withstand colder temperatures, it was agreed that Lokki would be transported to the New York Sanctum for interrogation and holding. There she could be restrained by Strange and the other Sanctum sorcerers if she tried escaping, without causing too much trouble.

"I thought Thor's brother was also to come along, to make sure Miss Lokki didn't use illusion magic to escape?"

"Apparently there were some issues and…" There was another beep indicating a new text, which Strange opened and immediately cocked an eyebrow. It was a snippet of video sent with an accompanying caption, underlying what the 25 seconds of film conveyed in Stark's brand of banter. "'Reindeer Games 2' pwning 'Reindeer Games 1.'" The wizard read Stark's text verbatim after hitting play on the clip, his mouth twitched with amusement as he watched Lokki suddenly kneeing Loki when the latter Jotunn was talking with Thor. A string of foul language - both English and Asgardian by the sound - from Loki followed.

"...ooh." Wong, peeking at the video clip, cringed as it finished and auto-repeated, feeling the reflective empathy any guy who'd ever got kneed between the legs felt when seeing it happen to another. "...that's gotta have hurt."

"Yeah." Agreed Strange, while watching the clip again, his focus less on the pwnage and more on the reaction and glares between the two Lokis. It was obvious that Loki had midway through his swath of swearing moved to retaliate, even summoning a dagger, but had stopped. The human wizard frowned.

Thor's knocking on the Sanctum's entrance interrupted, drawing both wizards' attentions from the video clip. Wong hurried downstairs to usher in their guests, while Strange pocketed his phone and placed the book of interrogative magicks back on the shelf. Afterwards he cast a spell on the floor, reinforcing it against any magic the female Jotunn may use. The room Lokki would be lodging in had already been so prepped.

"Upstairs, to the right. First open door."

"Got it. Thanks." Thor said to Wong as the sorcerer led him, Natasha, and Lokki up to the Sanctum's private library.

"Good evening." Welcomed Strange as he exited into the hall, eyeing his guests, especially Lokki. The frost giantess was sandwiched between her two escorts, Thor on her right holding her upper arm firmly, and Natasha on her left, holding just as tightly to Lokki's wrist. Both Avengers appeared annoyed.

"L…."

"Stark already messaged me." Strange interrupted. "Said your brother was...indisposed and couldn't make it." The wizard noted the smug grin Lokki gave when hearing about the mischief god and the comeuppance she'd given him. He also noticed the seidr-binding magic around her wrists, a temporary restraining measure he sensed was Loki's payback for his female doppelganger's assault.

"Yeah." Thor grumbled, annoyed; many thoughts going through his head. He, as with Stark and the other Avengers, had been gobsmacked by Lokki's sudden attack on his brother. Him even more so, because while Stark and Banner may have been too far away to know it, Thor had been talking with Loki. The mischief god hadn't done anything or said anything to prompt the female Jotunn to knee him. "Should I bring Sis to her chamber or are you planning to question her tonight?"

"Questioning first." Strange replied, not missing the quick glance Lokki gave Thor when the Asgardian referred to her as his sister. Thanks to his photographic memory and keen mind he deduced it to be a confused glance, and he felt his curiosity about the mischievous goddess increase.

"Can't I have some refreshments first? I'm famished." Lokki asked, her tone not reflecting any acknowledgment of Thor's or Natasha's annoyance.

"You had food at the tower." Natasha snapped, letting go of the goddess' wrist after Strange cast a stronger magic-silencing spell on the Jotunn sorceress.

"You call that greasy and heavily salted abomination food?!" Lokki gaped at the red haired assassin, appalled. "It wasn't even fit for a dog!"

"Sister, you're the one who wanted fish n chips." Thor groaned, reminding the jotunn that she'd requested - actually demanded - the Midgardian meal consisting of deep fried potatoes and battered fish. It had been the first thing, since her revelation about the Infinity Stones earlier that afternoon, that she had said. And thus Thor, feeling responsible for his adoptive sister from another universe, had asked his fellow Avengers to get the meal for Lokki.

"I'm n…." Lokki grimaced, her sea-hued gaze glaring at Thor, her hands resting over her stomach and smoothing out her shirt. (The same green tunic and black slacks outfit Loki had seidr summoned for her after dispelling her basilisk spider shape-shifting spell.) "I didn't know you were going to get it from what has to be the worst Midgardian kitchen. I'd rather have a hamburger from one of their fast food thingamabobs."

"Thing-a…what? You mean restaurant." Thor corrected, earning him a smoldering glare from Lokki, whose cheeks slightly pinked.

"Thingamabob is a legit Midgardian word, you…"

"All right. All right." Strange interrupted the Jotunn sorceress, his eyes locked on the magic silencing binds he'd placed on Lokki. Despite it being virtually impossible, the sorceress had subconsciously started straining them, her irritability nipping away at the magic binds. Hiding his alarm, Strange stepped forward, addressing Lokki. "I'll see about getting you something to eat, Miss Lokki. Thor, you and Natasha can go, Wong and I can handle your sister."

"See? At least someone here's decent." Lokki jabbed, crossing her arms and turning her back to both non-sorcerers.

Thor rubbed his temples, a headache forming there, while beside him Natasha rolled her eyes and started down the stairs. The thunder god soon followed, both of them done with the Jotunn sorceress' attitude. After the two left, Strange turned toward Lokki and motioned towards the library.

The mischief goddess simply glanced through the doorway, noticing the magical reinforcements arrayed around the room and on the floor. "...going right into it, huh?" She sighed, referring to her soon-to-happen interrogation. "What about getting me some sustenance? I don't tend to be agreeable on an empty stomach."

'_Are you ever?'_ Thought Strange to himself, before preparing to simply portal Lokki into the library. The Jotunn surprised him by quickly entering the room without any further complaint or comment, except for snapping a 'I'm going, alright?' after realizing what he was about to do. As she walked by him (he was standing closer to the library door than her, despite her being a foot or so further down the upper corridor), he glanced her over. He immediately noted that his magic-dampening spell, despite being strained by Lokki's frost magic minutes earlier, was once again at full strength.

'_That's a relief,'_ he thought as he watched the Jotunn sorceress smooth out the front of her tunic again while waiting for him to follow, her hands lingering over her abdomen. Resting them there a few moments longer than necessary to smooth out the fabric, while a hint of a softened smile tugged at her lips. So brief Strange almost missed it.

For some reason it made him pause, and he thought of the video clip Stark had sent. In it, their Loki had been about to retaliate against the new Lokki but had stopped and instead stalked off. A reversal that happened seconds after the mischief god met the goddess' glare and noted her hand resting deliberately on her stomach.

Strange's eyes narrowed, realizing the look and gesture for what it was - a nonverbal spat between Loki and Lokki, in which the latter had dared the other to retaliate. Only to stop the god of mischief with a most innocuous gesture. Not a very threatening move but their Loki had immediately backed off.

That made little sense. Strange didn't care if the two Lokis were aliens, simply placing a hand on one's abdomen wasn't threatening. Not in the slightest.

'_Neither is aiming for the stomach of the person holding a knife to your throat.'_ The wizard muttered quietly as he thought of Banner's description of his and Loki's recapture of the female Jotunn. Perplexed by the reversal, and suspicious that it was a ploy of some kind, Banner had told his fellow Avengers exactly what had transpired. Including how Loki had seemed apologetic to his female doppelganger immediately after. _'Unless….'_

Strange stiffened and his brow furrowed, the spark of a possible explanation clicking in his brain.

"Wong." Strange called out to his friend and fellow Sanctum wizard. "See about getting something to eat for our guest, something healthy. Takeout or delivery." He said, handing the sorcerer some cash while saying thanks. The next moment he passed the library threshold and approached Lokki, who stood in the center of the front part of the library. The goddess appeared calm, but Strange noted the minor hints of tiredness. With a gesture he summoned and placed a chair beside the frost giantess. "You should sit."

"I…." Lokki glanced at the chair, then at Strange, a crease forming in the space between her eyebrows. It wasn't the start to the type of interrogation she'd expected, nonetheless she sat down a moment later without much fuss.

"Good." Strange headed towards the table-slash-desk, summoning a book to him as he did so. "Before we begin...As you claim to be your universe's version of the god of lies and mischief, it shouldn't surprise you if I take some precautions to make sure you're truthful." He flipped open the book in his hands, its pages containing incantations and spells useful for interrogation and discerning honesty. Each quite powerful, to varying degrees. Although he suspected none would be as effective against a god (or goddess) of lies as they would against others. "You don't mind?"

Lokki, eyeing the book and reading its cover, recognized the tome for what it was. A volume of mediocre spells, incantations, and elixir recipes used for extracting answers from the unwitting. Not one of which would be useful against her - Strange had at various times attempted to use the strongest of them on their universe's Loki, which the god of lies had always countered. Through either magic or his silver-tongue. The goddess, the human wizard assumed, would likewise be ready against the techniques, and thus wouldn't mind...

"I do mind." Lokki blurted, glaring at Strange and the book when the wizard started muttering aloud techniques and spells from the book. All ones that were dangerous, either by themselves or because they required powerful and invasive magics. When Strange read out one truth spell that required the ingestion of an elixir made from ingredients not wholly safe, the goddess paled and snapped. "Absolutely not!"

Strange looked askance at Lokki, lifting an eyebrow at her response, and at the woman's hands once more reflexively shielding her abdomen. "Why? None of these should be too dangerous, considering your ancestry." He eyed her closely, paying attention to her alarmed expression and how her frost magic seemed to be rearing up again. Not enough to break through his binds on her, but enough to concern him. "That is unless there is something I should know before we start? Any sort of illness or pregnancy…"

Lokki blanched and drew in a breath, the look she flashed him all Strange needed to know the answer. He closed the book abruptly and placed it on the flat surface of his table, mulling over his next words.

"This is a predicament." Muttered Strange who sat down in a chair beside the desk-table, considering his options. "None of the spells strong enough to interrogate you are safe for your condition." He paused, glancing at the sorceress. All while thinking that he wouldn't interrogate her now, even if the spells and techniques were safe.

"Then don't use them." Lokki replied, scrutinizing the surgeon-turned-sorcerer. "..._Doctor_."

Strange's brow furrowed at the emphasis on his title, his brain both beaming and suspicious of Lokki's purpose for addressing him thus. There could be many reasons, but he suspected it was for what it represented.

"Midgardian law on doctor-patient confidentiality is still a thing in this universe, right?" Continued the frost giantess, her question causing the sorcerer to cock an eyebrow, bemused.

"Are you actually asking me to be your doctor?" The sorcerer leaned back in his chair, regarding the goddess with a stoic and discerning leer. It had briefly occurred to him to do as the woman's words suggested and use his medical profession, with its confidentiality rules to convince Lokki to talk. Hearing the earnest tone her question took made Strange wonder if the Jotunn female actually knew anything about the confidentiality law. His lips pursed when Lokki shrugged. "You do know I was a surgeon, not an obstetrician."

Lokki just shrugged. "A doctor's a doctor, right?" She muttered while Strange grimaced, his demeanor similar to when their Loki had revealed that the statue prank had been for April Fools day. No part of him wanted to explain the nuances of Earth's medical profession and its specialties. "It's that way in the other of the nine realms."

"No." Strange replied after a moment, shaking his head. "I won't be your doctor." He paused and leaned forward slightly. "However, if you answer a few questions, I promise not to tell the Avengers about your condition."

There was a brief silence, before Lokki nodded.

* * *

0

Reclining on the twin-size mattress and box-spring combo bed, though it could hardly be called that, in the room (one much smaller than his cell on Asgard) that the Midgardian Avengers had grudgingly given him after he'd been kicked out of another country, Loki gazed pensively at the ceiling. Not really seeing it, but rather focused on his thoughts and the events of earlier. It was difficult to fathom that not even a day had passed since his female doppelganger had appeared, the Avengers were so focused on her and how her universe had been devastated that it felt like days should've passed, not hours. On Asgard, where the general lifespan was 5000 years, everything, except emergencies, moved along slower paced, with much more time put into planning and festivities.

The rushing pace that defined the lives of the Midgardians was so different and, though it caused issues between New Asgard and her Midgardian-human allies, Loki had thrived on it. Mischief is much more fun when the payoff happens quickly, and after just a few months on Midgard, Loki had realized just how much more closer to chaos Midgard was than the other realms. And how better suited Midgardians were for handling it.

If the god of mischief had pulled even a quarter of the stunts he pulled during his second year on Midgard in any of the other realms, he would've been imprisoned indefinitely. And the realms would still be dealing with the fallout for years to come. The Midgardians, though, had repaired all the damage caused by his, at times, destructive and dangerous stunts, within weeks and months, if not days!

This had quickly fascinated Loki, and he'd viewed it as a personal challenge to come up with some mischief that wouldn't be fixed by the Midgardians so quickly, but that also wouldn't result in Nuclear Armageddon.

(After one of his more dangerous pranks, he'd learned how volatile international relations were between the Midgardian countries with WMDs and, actually frightening, how willing some Midgardians were to use them. There weren't many, and most were against using them except as a last resort, but just the idea that the Midgardians would ever use nukes against each other, without the safety of being on another planet, had shaken Loki. He was sharing the planet with them after all!)

He ultimately settled on replacing the Statue of Liberty with one of himself - actually replacing it, not merely using an illusion spell. Thus leading to the first event of that afternoon, and his threatened exile to Antarctica. Both which had been immediately overshadowed by the arrival of his doppelganger and her reveal.

"Norns…" Loki muttered under his breath, his arm pillowed under his head as he stared at the ceiling. Not finding the Midgardian pillows comfortable enough for reclining on the bed, he'd tossed them aside. "What a hell of a day it's been."

He continued to stare at the ceiling, not yet inclined to read any of the books stacked throughout the bedroom. Nor to cast an illusion spell to hide that fact from the cameras placed in the corners - Stark had insisted on installing them as a temporary condition of Loki being given the room, and hadn't yet removed them despite admitting he didn't monitor them as heavily as before. (An unadmitted, direct result of the mischief god engaging in certain - _private _\- activities almost immediately whenever he was alone to spite the Midgardian.)

"Fucking hell." Loki swore to himself, his thought of the cameras and how he got revenge on the Avenger for insisting on having them installed reminding him of how his female double had stript naked and flirted with Stark. He hadn't felt particularly self-conscious or embarrassed when he'd engaged in his particular _activity_ knowing that the Avenger was surveilling him. But that was because he knew it would repulse the other man and get him to lay off watching. What his female doppelganger did...that was just - urgh.

'_I need to erase that image from my memory.'_ Loki sat up and reached for the drawers beside his mattress, taking out a glass bottle of Midgardian alcohol which he had pilfered some weeks ago from Stark's collection. _'How the hell could any version of me flirt with that...urgh?! Naked! And he flirted back!'_ The mischief god cringed and took a swig from the bottle, not caring how strong the alcohol was or that the Avenger could very well see him drinking it from the cameras. Or that he would get in trouble for stealing the bottle. (He'd placed a fake on the shelf that he'd taken it from, thus its theft hadn't been discovered yet.) _'Norns, he better not be the f….'_

The god of mischief suddenly coughed and sputtered, his thoughts going to his female double and a particular tidbit he'd gleaned from her frost magic. It wasn't something the Midgardians could know, and his brother would likely have forgotten if Thor had even ever listened to the parts of Odin's stories not dealing with actual battle, but female frost giants reached colder temperatures than the males, and much more quickly. But that second part only applied to pregnant female Jotunn. It was, from what little Loki could discover in Asgard's library both while growing up and after learning his true heritage, a defensive measure female Jotunn had developed to protect the unborn life inside them.

It was horrible to think about, but according to books dating back to Odin's father Bor and prior, male Jotunn would often murder the unborn children of rival clans. This was on top of kidnapping the rival clans females and forcing them to bear the new clan's offspring. A barbaric practice, and one of the many reasons Loki never considered moving to Jotunheim after learning of his heritage.

Even if the fact that Laufey had abandoned him to die as a newborn because he was small wasn't enough to dissuade him, Loki knew he would never move to Jotunheim. Not even to claim his birthright as heir to Jotunheim's throne. (Similar to its other uncouth traditions, the throne of Jotunheim was historically passed down to whatever son of the king defeated or even killed the other sons. Laufey had done so himself, forcing his siblings to submit and killing those that didn't.) Thus Loki could have had a throne for himself in the ice kingdom of Jotunheim, using his intelligence and magic to defeat Laufey's other sons, but he never wanted it. He was too much an Asgardian, truly a son of Odin, to consider it.

"Norns, if he is…" Loki muttered after clearing his lungs and esophagus of the alcohol that had spilled into them, his stomach feeling queasy. It had been shocking enough figuring out that his female doppelganger was pregnant, (his pointing his dagger at her abdomen had been him testing his hypothesis, which he'd formed after seeing her drastic shift in temperature and realizing that she'd given in too easily to him and Strange.) but the possibility that it could be Stark's or rather her universe's Stark's, was too much. Anyone but that! Anyone would be preferable than the Midgardian.

'_Anyone?'_ His subconscious whispered in his head, tauntingly. _'Even if it could be Thor….'_

"Fucking hell no! No way...bloody fucking…." Loki swore, his stomach flip-flopping like he'd drunk a whole Asgardian party worth of wine and mead. His subconscious torturing him with the one idea worse than Stark as the father of his doppelganger's baby. "No bloody way that's possible."

Even as he said that, he realized that it wasn't impossible. He, and thus his female double, wasn't Asgardian by blood. Odin had adopted him. And although that likely meant his double, especially since she shared his name 'Loki', had likewise been adopted by her universe's Odin, it did not guarantee it. Female Jotunn were rare. About only 20 to 30 percent of the population. The idea that even a cutthroat like Laufey would abandon a _daughter_ for the same reason he'd abandoned Loki, was mad. Male Jotunn were the fighters, it wasn't until they passed fertility age that female Jotunn fought alongside the males.

Of course this information he'd culled from the books in Asgard's royal library, and thus it could be biased. Or inaccurate. Or just plain lies. But Loki hadn't seen a single female frost giant when he'd gone to set up his plan to kill Laufey. He knew they existed since Jotunn reproduced sexually and had live births. That was an undisputed fact, considering intermarriage between Jotunn and the citizens of other realms like Vanaheim did happen. Rarely, but it did. Before the Jotunn-Asgard war, before the frost giants aggressed on Midgard, there were even pairings between Jotunn and Midgardians.

Thus it was possible that this other Laufey hadn't abandoned Loki's female double, and even if the bastard had, it was also possible that Odin may not have adopted Lokki. If the old man had been honest when saying he'd hoped raising Loki as a son would bring true peace between Asgard and Jotunn through him, then it was possible he would see a Jotunn daughter as a similar tool. Albeit with the caveat that a political _marriage_ was much more useful than a royal hostage.

"Fucking hell." Loki mouthed, grimacing at the thought and grabbing once more for the bottle of Midgardian alcohol. Before he could do more than bring the bottle to his lips, Stark's voice boomed through the speaker below the camera over the door frame.

"Hey, Reindeer Games, that bottle is worth 30 times more than your and your brother's ages combined per glass. Stop drinking and put it down, unless you want to owe another 60 grand." Loki rolled his eyes, closing his lips around the bottle in spite of the Midgardian's threatening tone. "Fine. The heads of Homeland Security and Shield are still waiting for my decision on what to do with you for the statue mess. Should I tell them to prepare an Antarctic cage? Or maybe a ship to send you to Jotunheim?"

Loki glowered in response towards the surveillance camera and speaker, before placing down the alcohol bottle.

"Good. Now come down to the lab, there's some things we need to discuss."


	4. Chapter 4

**The Robbed That Smiles**

Chapter 04:

* * *

The morning light was bright, sneaking through the sparse breaks between the city brownstones and streets, and reflecting off of the glass windows and storefronts not far down the way. Commuters were already milling about in cars and on foot, on buses and bicycles. Each hurrying on their way to school, work, home, or wherever they were supposed to be. It was rushed, but also relaxing.

At least that was what Lokki's eyes reflected as she watched the hustle and bustle of Midgardians going about their lives; herself sitting outside a cafe at a canopied table, picking at a raisin bread muffin and nursing a glass of decaf iced tea. Sporting an olive and gray blouse with matching capri's and flats, she blended in with the Midgardians milling about the cafe. Ordinary. Unremarkable.

The only aberration to the image were the magic-suppressing bracers around her wrists. Though not connected like standard seidr shackles, the bracers still stood out. Not to mention they were uncomfortably tight and nearly undid the effort of the rest of her outfit to keep her cool.

"Norns, why does it have to be so hot?" Lokki scowled and sipped her drink, making sure to mouth one of the ice cubes. The cold surface felt wonderful on her tongue and she closed her eyes, focusing on it rather than the Midgardian sun heating up the air in an unexpected winter heatwave. Doing so also had the added bonus of helping to calm the nausea burbling in her stomach.

"Midgard is much warmer than Jotunheim or Asgard. What do you expect?" Came a smirking voice and she opened her eyes, scowling at the sight of her male counterpart sitting across from her. Dressed in a long sleeved suit and tie, stylish and much too stuffy for the weather, Loki grinned, not at all bothered by the unusual heat. The reason readily apparent when Lokki reached to grab his wrist and her fingers passed right through. "Seriously, why not head inside? There's air conditioning and a few empty seats."

Lokki scowled and frowned. She glanced back inside the cafe, briefly considering the other's advice, but then shook her head. The next second she covered her nose, remembering the scents that had bombarded her when she'd ordered her muffin and tea. Most were pleasant and hunger inducing despite her nausea, making her want to stay inside. But then one of the employees charred a customer's egg and sausage sandwich. That, combined with a few other smells like the dark roast coffee and the body odor and deodorants of numerous Midgardians cloistered in the small cafe, drove her out.

"You're seriously going to suffer out here? Why?" Loki asked, barely reacting to his female double's scowl. He blinked when she muttered her reason, and nearly made the mistake of simply dismissing it. Only to stop midway following the vehement glare his doppelganger flashed him. Nine days had passed since the arrival of his female counterpart to his universe, and while it wasn't long enough for the Avengers to come to a consensus on the goddess, it was long enough for Loki to realize that pissing off a pregnant Jotunn was not the best idea.

Contrary to the Asgardian library's lore about them, frost giants weren't as immune to extreme cold as assumed. Damage wise they were, but he'd spent nearly the whole third day following Lokki's arrival frozen solid after pissing off his female counterpart. It was an enlightening and humiliating experience. One he had zero desire to repeat, not least because of Stark's jibes after he thawed out.

The illusion of Loki sighed. "You can't be comfortable. _I'd_ be miserable in this heat, so you in your condition must be..."

"What do you want?" Lokki interrupted, taking a gulp of tea and relishing the cold liquid, while the god of mischief watched silently. It wasn't until she started taking another drink that Lokki noticed the other's smirk or that her tea had turned to water. Very, very cold water. She glared at him. "You…."

"Hm?" Loki gazed down at Lokki, standing beside her as he dispelled the illusion of himself. He was tempted to grab his female version's shoulder to preemptively secure her but refrained. Instead he simply stood and waited.

"That was my tea, bastard." She grumbled, before drinking more of the iced water, her body craving it despite how mediocre it was for her taste-buds.

Loki tilted his head, his lips twitching with a hint of a smirk watching the disconnect between his doppelganger's words and actions. "You're welcome? I could've done worse, but seeing as you're with child making you sip something foul wouldn't be…"

"Forgivable? Like deliberately holding a knife to my abdomen and threatening my unborn child?" Lokki hissed, scowling at the mischief god, whose face paled a shade.

"I apologized for that." Loki replied abruptly, lowering his voice. Aside from the two of them, and Doctor Strange unfortunately, no one understood exactly what he'd done when he'd aimed his dagger at his female doppelganger's stomach. At least not yet. And he wasn't looking forward to the potential shit-storm that'd occur if his brother or the other Avengers figured it out. Out of everything he'd done, his threatening an unborn child would likely be the final straw for many of the Midgardians.

"Letting me knee you without retaliating isn't an apology."

"I...I apologized verbally the next day."

"After Doc confronted you." Lokki retorted, leaning back in her seat and glaring up at the other god. After the Midgardian wizard had finished questioning her, a mild interrogation unlike what either she or him expected, Strange had sought out a private conversation with Loki. One in which he'd briefly and concisely told the mischief god he knew Lokki was pregnant and that he knew Loki had figured it out himself before the mischief god had pulled a dagger on his female counterpart.

"I can't believe you told him." The mischief god grimaced, remembering how Strange had confronted him and threatened to place him back in the same endless pit of a dimension as during their first encounter. "And none of that 'oh, he just happened to figure it out', bullshit. You could've spun some lines to convince him he was mistaken, or that you were simply trying to manipulate him into thinking you're pregnant. Sow some doubt." Loki grumbled, not noticing how Lokki turned quiet or the shift in her demeanor while she listened. The female Jotunn glanced down at her abdomen, caressing it protectively.

"...you're right. I could have done that." She muttered - something in her tone alarming Loki. The god of mischief glanced back down at his doppelganger, noticing her wistful and dour expression. "I could have even let him use one of those dangerous interrogation spells in his book, but…." Lokki glanced up at Loki. "If you were in my position, would you actually risk harm to _your_ child just to deceive someone?"

Loki opened his mouth to respond but then shut it, his female double's question giving him something to ponder. Having his own children wasn't something he'd ever thought much about, and despite what the Midgardian myths about him said, he wasn't a parent. If he had had a child or children, he imagined it would've tempered his envy for his brother, and even his disdain for Odin. He couldn't imagine being anything but devoted to caring for his own child, if he'd had one.

"See?" Lokki muttered, correctly interpreting her male self's lack of response.

"...the wizard wouldn't have endangered your pregnancy. Not really." Said Loki after a moment of quiet introspection. "None of them would. They're all too...good. Heroic."

"As opposed to you?" The goddess muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. Especially for her next two words. "...or I?"

Loki groaned, grinding his teeth and completely missing the last part of his doppelganger's reply. "Come on. I wasn't really gonna stab you. I was just...just…" He grimaced, a contrite glimmer in his sea-colored eyes. "Your innate frost magic didn't trigger when I held that dagger against you, so you know I'm telling the truth, I…."

The goddess simply glanced up and gazed at Loki, her demeanor similar to that of a wiser person looking at a foolish youth. "You think that ability is infallible? That it always works?"

"...it doesn't?" The mischief god asked, his eyes widening and darting over his doppelganger for any sign of lying.

Lokki just shook her head, a gleam in her eyes that the mischief god couldn't quite decipher.

"You're here because Doc sent you, right?" The goddess asked, standing up and ignoring the curiosity in the other god's eyes. It was obvious he wanted to question her more about her pregnancy, but she cut him off before he could. "It's probably about the obstetrician he wants me to see. Let's go then."

* * *

0

"And...?" Prompted Stark, his arms crossed as he leaned back against the table, eyes set on Strange. Or rather the monitor screen live video of the sorcerer currently being streamed through one of the wealthy inventor's iron suits. The latter frowned as the former proceeded to ignore him, instead picking up a book to skim through. "Little Miss Frosty didn't say anything else? Like the name of the person who destroyed her universe?"

"I already told you what Miss Lokki said during my interview with her last week." The wizard replied without glancing up from the book he held, his eyes slowly skimming over the pages of text; his purpose not to read but rather to ignore his fellow Avenger.

"'Interview'? It was supposed to be an interrogation." Stark countered, his annoyance increasing with each passing second the other man continued brushing him off. His mouth twitched into the sort of mirthless smile one gets when they're angry but trying to remain civil. "Not some talk over tea or whatever trying to figure out if someone will be a good fit as an employee."

Strange grimaced, becoming annoyed himself at the other's verbal jabs. "I already told you what I got from her. Someone collected all the Infinity Stones and used them to decimate her universe, after offing her universe's versions of us."

"And?" Stark again prompted the wizard. "You learned nothing else from her? She's been staying in your Sanctum for over a week, and you haven't gotten her to elaborate or give names? Dates? The locations of the other stones, perhaps?" He scowled, watching the other closely before shifting tactics. Shrugging and dropping his crossed arms, his next words came out smugly. "You know you could just admit you got nothing out of her and let the rest of us have a crack at her. Natasha's already geared up to try her hand at…"

"You're free to question Miss Lokki yourself all you like." Strange interrupted after slamming his book shut, brow furrowed. "Provided you don't utilize any harmful or physically invasive methods to interrogate her."

"Not use any harmful…?" Stark gawked at Strange, crossing his arms again. "You do know who she is? Who she claims she is? There is no way to question her and get truthful answers without using some sort of force or threat thereof."

"I strongly advise against either." The wizard replied, turning finally to face the other man - or rather the iron suit that was streaming their pseudo-skype call to Stark. "Empty threats won't work and, unless you have some way to avoid becoming a human popsicle, using force won't either. You saw what she did to Loki the other day."

Stark started to retort but stopped, the memory of the female mischief master freezing her male counterpart playing in his thoughts. It had shocked but also highly amused him, once they figured out Loki was physically unharmed. (A few of his fellow Avengers were less amused.) Even now a grin pulled at the corners of his mouth remembering it. Of course it was different to consider what would happen if one of them got froze solid instead. Unlike the ice that Steve Rogers had been frozen under for decades, the frost magic Lokki had used was pretty unsurvivable. Except for Jotunn, apparently. "If my safety is why you object, I'm flattered. But your concern is unwarranted since I've been developing a new version of those magic cuffs that should withstand even Little Miss _Nippy's_ freezing temperatures."

Strange grimaced and shook his head. "I can't allow you to use any harmful means to interrogate Miss Lokki. I…"

"'Allow'?" Stark blinked, gaping at the other man. "_Allow_? What? Are you her doctor or..." He muttered while rolling his eyes, only to be cut off suddenly by the sound of the stream being cut off and the iron suit he'd sent dropping through a portal. "...something?" As the suit landed in front of him, Stark simply stared at it and then the holographic monitor; his face and demeanor shifting through various expressions and emotions. It finally settled on shock just as his cell phone rang.

* * *

~0~

With her hands squeezed into tight fists at her sides and her jaw clenched, Lokki fumed. Her sea-green gaze locked on a woman with chestnut braids and dressed in the traditional Asgardian healer uniform. Not just that, everything about the woman - from stance and facial expression to accent - screamed Asgardian. The frost giantess' eyes narrowed.

Standing just as wordless beside his female doppelganger was Loki, his own demeanor growing more wary each second that passed. After collecting Lokki from the cafe, he'd brought her back to the Sanctum per Strange's request: (one of the conditions for the wizard not telling the others that the mischief god essentially threatened an unborn child was Loki helping with Lokki. To keep tabs on her and bring her to the Sanctum whenever Strange asked.) Neither of the mischief gods had expected to find an Asgardian physician waiting in the Sanctum foyer.

"Good morning." The woman greeted, stepping towards Lokki. "You must be the one Dr. Strange asked me to come see. I'm…"

The mischief goddess scowled, ignoring the other's greeting and instead turned to leave. Only to be stopped by Loki who grabbed her arm, the god not wanting to chase after his doppelganger. Lokki glared at him, her skin suddenly a handful of degrees cooler. "...I know who you are." She spat, talking to the Asgardian while continuing to glare at her male double. "Lady Reyda. Junior Maternal physician for the Asgard royal court. Or what I assume Midgardians qualify as an obstetrician."

"Yes. That is correct. I…." Reyda glanced from Loki to Lokki, her wide gray eyes quietly observing the two, noticing all their similarities. Their differences too - like Lokki being more lithe and a mite shorter than her male counterpart. Or the few telltale signs of the female Jotunn's frost magic acting up despite the magic suppressing cuffs holding it back. "You must be the Lady Lokki from the parallel dimension. Thor talked about you and your sudden arrival, and everyone in New Asgard is curious about you."

"Are they now?" Lokki clenched her teeth, still not turning back to the young obstetrician. Her frost magic continued to build up, leaving the edge of her seidr cuffs an icy white. The Asgardian obstetrician tensed, alarm and concern churning inside her.

"Milady, perhaps you should sit down and try to relax? Having your frost act up too much isn't good for your condition. It's only meant as protection for dire circumstances." Reyda approached, reaching out to grab Lokki and lead her to one of the cushioned chairs in the downstairs sitting area. Her words caused Loki to look at her and then at his female doppelganger, intrigued. Even more so when Lokki didn't contradict the other woman.

"Is that true?" Strange asked, having just started to descend the stairs from the upper floor of the Sanctum. His brow creased heavily with concern.

Lokki spun around at his voice, and hissed at him. "You promised not to tell anyone!"

"No. I promised not to tell the Avengers." Countered Strange, continuing on his way down to the small group. "Which Doctor Reyda is not. She is, however, the only obstetrician I found who has any experience with Jotunn pregnancies." He paused, considering the mischief goddess' fuming countenance. "I assumed, as this is Earth, or Midgard as you call it, and no human has medical experience with your people, you would know I'd ask around New Asgard. It would probably be better to have a Jotunn physician, but seeing as you two are the only Jotunn on Earth that's unlikely."

The mischief goddess glowered at the wizard, as did her male counterpart, albeit with a less intense glare. Reyda herself also turned on Strange, laying into him after realizing what he'd done and how Lokki was reacting to it.

"You didn't tell her I was coming?! Or that you'd be having an Asgardian physician look after her at all?!" Reyda chastised the human wizard, her anger surprising Strange more than either Lokis'. "Female Jotunn have very difficult pregnancies as it is, exacerbating them through emotional stress is irresponsible! Unprofessional! You…"

Strange froze at the criticism, his calm demeanor wiped from his face at Reyda's revelation. Instead a doctor's concern replaced it, mixed with fearful guilt over the chance of him contributing to complications or worse. "...How difficult is a Jotunn pregnancy?"

Reyda opened her mouth to respond, before paling and turning back towards Lokki. "I apologize. I don't know how much you know or have been told already, but…"

"I know." Lokki replied in a low voice, her anger drained and replaced with a quiet despondency. She turned around towards the Asgardian obstetrician, but kept her gaze downcast, her lips pulled thin. Her next words came out incredibly low, almost like she was trying to simply mouth them. "This isn't my first pregnancy."

Reyda stilled, along with Strange, seeing the goddess' somber demeanor as she mentioned so sadly news what was usually happy; immediately, both of their instincts as members of the medical profession hollered at them. Neither needed much more to surmise what the goddess had likely experienced. And although Loki lacked the same medical instinct, he couldn't help but recognize the grief-stricken expression on his doppelganger's face. It didn't take long for him to realize the same thing as Reyda and Strange.

"You've lost a…" Loki started to say, callous in his shock, only for Strange to abruptly interrupt.

"There's a room over this way, where you and Dr. Reyda can talk privately, Miss Lokki." The wizard motioned towards an office that had served as a private study space for other sorcerers a few times the past few years. He flashed the mischief god a chastising scowl. "I've fitted it as you requested, Dr. Reyda."

Reyda nodded, muttering thanks to the wizard before focusing solely on Lokki, who was now a bit more reticent. And quiet. A moment or so passed before the two women headed towards the room Strange had indicated, and as the door clicked shut the human sorcerer turned towards the mischief god.

Before either could speak, the door to the Sanctum opened and Wong entered, followed by Rogers and Thor. The latter two's expressions were a mix of annoyance, curiosity, and exasperation; while the former's was simply discomfort. Strange glanced at the two behind his fellow Sanctum wizard briefly before focusing on Wong. From his friend and fellow sorcerer's demeanor alone, the surgeon-turned-wizard understood what this intrusion was about.

"Good day, brother." Loki greeted enthusiastically, hiding his confusion and wariness for why his brother was standing annoyed in the doorway. Whether solely from his confusion or because part of him was still reeling from what he just learned about his female doppelganger, his mind was blank. He tried, but he couldn't think of any pranks he'd done recently that would explain Thor's presence or annoyance.

"Oh! Brother, good to see you." Thor greeted, his one good eye widening in delight and surprise. Something that further bewildered Loki. "I didn't know you were here, is our sister-of-sorts here as well?" The thunder god glanced around behind the mischief god.

Loki blinked, initially too taken aback by the shift in Thor's demeanor to answer; he'd been apprehended so often after seeing that annoyed look on his brother, that it took him a while to register it wasn't him Thor was irritated with. "Well, um, she's sleeping in. Late night last night." He lied, knowing that his female-doppelganger would be furious if anyone else found out about her pregnancy. "...why are you here?"

Thor cocked an eyebrow at Loki's confusion, as well as the lie about the mischief goddess. It wasn't up to his brother's usual skill, not even close, and he was tempted to call the other on it. Rogers interrupted before he could.

"Relax. For once, _you're_ not the one in trouble." Rogers told the mischief god before turning his attention back to Strange. Crossing his arms, he scowled, not so much angrily, but rather a mix of stern and bemused. Thor's expression reflected pretty much similar sentiment when he glanced back towards the human sorcerer.

Strange rolled his eyes and sighed. "We can talk about this elsewhere. I was just getting ready to go for a stroll."

"Go ahead." Rogers replied, before continuing. "But first, please explain why the poem at the base of the Statue of Liberty is now written in a combination of Sanskrit and Klingon?"

The surgeon-turned-wizard just shrugged, partly smiling and muttered something about pleading the fifth.

Thor scowled and crossed his arms, not understanding what Strange meant while Rogers sighed heavily. "That was the replacement statue _you_ provided." The thunder god said gruffly, holding back the impulse to grab the doctor by his lapels and shake him. Realizing how angry Thor was and surprised by it, Strange bristled.

"Calm down. It was just a bit of harmless fun, a joke."

"...a joke?" Rogers asked, while preemptively standing between Thor and Strange.

"It was meant for April Fool's Day." Strange elaborated. "Thanks to a certain someone, it ended up having to be used as a placeholder instead." Strange side-glanced at Loki, the mischief god highly amused by the situation, especially as he for once wasn't the one in trouble.

"Seriously?" Rogers muttered, his annoyance barely more than a tidbit now. Thor's however hadn't decreased a bit; Loki himself got annoyed by the Midgardian's attitude shift.

"Hey! My statue was for April Fools Day as well!" Loki exclaimed, starting to fume. "How is it you Midgardians get mad at my prank but not his?!"

Rogers immediately gaped at the mischief god. "You mean your prank was for…" He facepalmed when Loki nodded and proceeded to demand why his prank was being judged harsher than Strange's. "Are you seriously saying you...you do know that April Fool's Day pranks are not valid as such unless done on the first of April, right? You can only get away with such pranks on that day."

Loki's eyes widened, lips parting in surprise. "I could've gotten away with it? I could've avoided getting into trouble if I waited?"

"I...well," Rogers grimaced, thinking about the giant Loki statue and how the mischief god's first appearance on Earth had been when Loki had tried taking over the planet. Even on April 1st, replacing Lady Liberty with a statue of Loki would likely not be acceptable as a joke. "...it would've been more forgivable, maybe? You did attack Earth before, so any prank in which you replace an important statue with one of yourself wouldn't really be tolerated. Any other prank, sure. But not that one."

"...oh." Loki muttered, realizing for the first time how terrible his statue prank actually was. The Midgardians hadn't thought of it as a prank at all, but must've thought it was a second attack by him. "I...oh."

"Ah, so you can feel remorse." Strange quipped, tempted to chide the mischief god about his threat to Lokki's unborn child. Thor grabbing his shirt angrily circumvented that. The wizard tilted his head, gazing at the thunder god, bewildered. "Why are you so pissed off?"

"Language." Rogers chastised, to which Strange rolled his eyes and repeated his question. Before Thor could answer, Rogers did. "Well...because of last week's incident...it's been difficult to convince S.H.I.E.L.D and Washington that this time it wasn't Loki."

"What?" Loki just gazed, slack-jawed, at Rogers.

"Ah." Replied Strange, understanding now why Thor was angry at him. It was a case of the boy who cried wolf. The mischief god had done one too many pranks that it was impossible for some people to believe he wasn't the culprit of a similar prank. "I guess I should help." He paused, thinking. "If S.H.I.E.L.D and Washington think Loki is behind the current statue, does that mean…."

Rogers nodded. "Yeah. They want to lock him up in Antarctica."

"But I didn't do anything this time!" Loki yelled, looking back and forth from the Midgardians to his brother. He finally settled on glowering at Strange. "This is your fault! You need to tell them you're behind this current shit! Not me!"

"I do?" Replied Strange, annoyed by the mischief god's demands and feeling like having some fun at Loki's expense. Thor tightened his grip on the wizard's shirt, glaring at him. After a moment Strange started to sigh and agree to help clarify things, but was cut off by Loki.

"You have to! _Selfie's_ BABY is going to need an UNCLE when it's BORN! An uncle that can teach it all about magic and mischief and…" Loki trailed off, cheeks paling a few shades, and a chill racing down his back.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"You FUCKing SON of a BASTard!" Lokki hollered, swiftly exiting the office room in which Reyda had been assessing her condition. Having heard her male double mention her having a baby, she zoomed out seething, barely bothering to fix her blouse properly. (To fully assess the health of her and her baby, Reyda had needed to directly examine Lokki's abdomen - especially since the technology available on Midgard was leagues behind Asgard.) "You BITCH about me not LYING to Doc about MY pregnancy when he was gonna use who knows what to INTERROGATE me but then YOU blab right away to save YOUR sorry ASS!? You FUCKing QUIM coward! You…"

Finally noticing who was there and that the Sanctum door was still wide open, Lokki fell quiet; behind her Reyda hurried forward, concerned greatly by how agitated the frost giantess was. Her sea-colored eyes roamed over her surroundings and the faces of the Avengers in the Sanctum foyer, the room suddenly struck so quiet a pin drop would sound like a sharp clap.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Robbed That Smiles**

Chapter 05:

* * *

Noticing who was there and that the Sanctum door was still wide open, Lokki fell quiet; behind her Reyda hurried forward, concerned greatly by how agitated the frost giantess was. The mischief goddess' sea-colored eyes roamed over her surroundings and the faces of the Avengers in the Sanctum foyer, the room suddenly struck so quiet a pin drop would sound like a sharp clap.

Just as suddenly the quiet vanished when Thor let go of Strange and instead hurried to Lokki, absolutely beaming. "You're with child, sister?" The thunder god asked, ecstatic. Out of all the Avengers, he had been the first, aside from Loki himself, to truly view Lokki as who she said she was. And as such, he fully viewed her as family, like some recently rediscovered lost sibling. A much more welcomed surprise compared to Odin's reveal of Hela.

"I…." Lokki fidgeted while smoothing out her blouse, spreading the soft material so that it once more fully covered her abdomen. Until that moment, most of her middle and lower abdomen had been bare. And despite her previous unabashed display of nudity in front of Stark, she felt more exposed now than a week ago. She nodded. "I am."

Thor grinned forgetting all about why he and Rogers had come, and instead started asking various questions of the frost giantess. Things like: How far along was she? Did she know what she'd name the baby? Or even what gender it was to be? Who was the father? His exuberance was so great, he barely paused for the frost giantess to respond.

"Ahem." Reyda interrupted the thunder god's parade of questions, and whispered something in Lokki's ear after noticing that the frost giantess' demeanor had flipped. Where she had been blistering angry, Lokki was now subdued and reticent. Even more so after Thor asked about the father of her child. The obstetrician gave Lokki a reassuring look and gestured towards the room they'd been in mere moments before. After Lokki nodded in reply to the Asgardian healer's wordless question, Reyda turned to Thor. "I was just giving Lady Lokki a check up, so please save all inquiries for later. And if possible, could you take this disagreement or whatever you're in the midst of somewhere else?"

"Of course." Strange immediately answered recognizing the concern in Reyda's eyes and interrupting Thor who seemed childishly reluctant to do as the healer asked. Before the thunder god could protest, he continued. "We have a misunderstanding to clear up and should focus on it first and foremost. Unless Thor doesn't mind his brother being blamed for something he did not do?"

"Of course I mind!" Thor bristled, the next moment following Strange and Rogers on their way out of the Sanctum. Only pausing to halt Loki from following. "You should stay here. Some of the Midgardian leaders are chomping at the bit to lock you up, brother. I believe a few won't even care if you are innocent this time."

"I…" Loki started to protest, but then thought better of it. If the Midgardian leaders wanted to lock him up for simply existing, he wasn't going to just walk into their laps. Maybe if he came up with a trick that would royally fuck with them, but at the moment he preferred to not. "I'll just relax with a book in the library."

"All right, brother." Thor nodded, about to resume his way out, but hesitated and glanced towards the office door; Lokki and Reyda having just returned to the tiny room. There was reluctance in his eyes, not wanting to leave his pseudo-sister alone - mostly from excitedly wanting to celebrate the news and glean all he could about his newest family member, but also from a wary dread. He didn't know why, exactly, but hearing Lokki was pregnant filled him with concern.

"Brother? Shouldn't you be on your way?" Loki gazed at Thor, scrutinizing the thunder god. His tone having a terse underbite to it - in an unlikely to happen again turn of events, Strange had left the Sanctum without reactivating the higher defenses of the library. An oversight the mischief god was salivating to turn to his advantage. All those old tomes waiting for his peruse on their shelves.

"Loki...the stories father used to tell us as children...you remember the ones dealing with the female frost giants, right?" Asked Thor, missing the excitedly knavish look of his brother's due to the mischief god standing closer to his blind-side. As such he also missed Loki's swift change in emotion as the younger man realized what Thor meant.

According to Odin's stories, (the few that concerned female Jotunn), pregnancy and childbirth were among the most dangerous occurrences in Jotunn women's lives. The mortality rates amid both infants and mothers were so high, that one of the earliest truces between Jotunheim and Asgard was brought about when an Asgardian helped safely deliver a Jotunn baby that even the mother had given up hope in delivering alive. (That Jotunn mother was the head-consort of the strongest clan-father in Jotunheim during that time period, hence the truce.)

"Brother?"

"It's nothing to be concerned about." Loki lied, implicitly understanding that his doppelganger wouldn't want the concern that would result in Thor learning the truth. That her chance of a successful pregnancy was horribly low. Furthermore, Lokki would have both Dr. Strange and Lady Reyda observing her and her child's health, she wouldn't need anyone else knowing. "I'm sure father's stories were just stories - at least those ones. After all, he himself was told those stories by his father. And Female Jotunn ceased fighting in wars completely long before father's first battle. It's highly guaranteed he never met one."

"..." Thor listened to his brother, whose tone was much smoother and believable than when he lied about Lokki sleeping in. But that was the same for so many other of Loki's lies. His brother was so adept at persuasion and deceit that it was impossible for the thunder god to discern when the mischief god was truthful and when he was not. Thor only managed it when he began assuming that _everything_ his brother said was a lie, especially if it fucked him over or benefited Loki some other way.

"Are you really going to do this _now_? Disbelieving me about something private concerning, well, _myself_ of sorts, while the Midgardian government is deciding whether or not to _imprison_ me for a prank I didn't _actually_ do?" Loki rolled his eyes and gave a heavy exhale, his next words scoffing. "Do you really think _any_ version of me _wouldn't_ prioritize _my own_ safety over your or anyone's _feelings_? How much do you think I've _actually_ changed?"

Thor opened his mouth to reply, before giving into the other's argument. It was valid and not self-serving as far as the thunder god could tell. As he started to leave, Stephen Strange suddenly reentered and waved his hand towards the library, magically securing it. Loki's eyes bulged, his teeth clenching as his rare chance to delve unhindered in the Sanctum library was robbed from his grasp.

"I nearly forgot." Said Strange, though Loki wondered silently if that was true. It could've been, but the mischief god doubted the Midgardian wizard forgot or overlooked much of anything. It certainly hadn't taken him long to realize Lokki's condition or to realize Loki knew it before aiming his dagger at his double's abdomen. More likely, the wizard had wanted to fuck with him by presenting Loki with an opportunity to access the library, before ripping it away. Probably hoping to do so at the very moment Loki picked up a book. Thor delaying the mischief god had likely interfered with that part. "Library is off limits. As are my and Wong's private spaces. Also, try not to destroy anything while I'm away or I may just personally escort you to your Antarctic prison regardless."

With that, Strange left again, not bothering to gauge Thor's or Loki's reactions to his threat. Unsurprisingly, the mischief god's reaction was furious, simmering rage and quiet plotting on how to get back at the wizard. Thor's was shock mixed with rethinking of Loki's argument to get him to back off of his concern about his brother's female double.

"Just go." Loki snapped, recognizing the beginnings of distrust in his brother's face. It incensed him. "If you think I'd mislead you about Selfie's health and the safety of her child _just_ to get you out of the Sanctum so I can pilfer through the library, then fuck off. Go suck up to your little Avenger buddies and their government. Have the Midgardians lock me up in that arctic prison, or banish me, whatever. I don't bloody care."

"Loki, I…." Thor trailed off and watched as his brother stalked off, realizing that it was pointless to argue. He had without realizing it crossed a line, ticking off Loki in a way he hadn't in years. Not since they'd arrived in Midgard 3 years ago with the Asgardian refugees fleeing Ragnarok.

That time he managed to royally piss off his brother by doubting Loki's claim that he'd left behind the Tesseract in Asgard. At first Thor had believed his brother's claim completely, but had faltered due to the distrust every one of his fellow Avengers felt towards Loki. Eventually the mischief god's claim that he passed by the Tesseract in Asgard's vault, and though sorely tempted, had decided simply not to take it just seemed false.

Even after three years with no sign of the Tesseract or any hint that Loki had it stashed away somewhere, the other Avengers still suspected the mischief god had it. That saying he left it alone in Asgard during Ragnarok was a lie. That disbelief had even spread through New Asgard, and was the real reason Loki had been unofficially exiled from the settlement after one week. (It was an unofficial exile because Thor, as leader of New Asgard, refused to exile his brother. He had instead suggested Loki travel around Midgard for a while.)

That suggestion and the reason for it had peeved his brother, who had then proceeded to comply by traveling country to country, all under the radar. No one even knew where Loki had gone or was doing for about 3 months following his exile from New Asgard. It wasn't until his official exile from Norway that anyone heard any news of him, and when Thor questioned him later, Loki practically admitted to purposely getting exiled from the Midgardian country so his big brother wouldn't have to ever worry about him returning to New Asgard.

Thor had never felt more like an ass.

But by then Loki had gotten over it, similar to when they were children. Once his brother felt he'd gotten full revenge, he stopped focusing on the particular slight. It wasn't until they grew older that the mischief god started nursing grudges longer and despite getting payback. (Or at least that was Thor's observation which, since he'd never noticed his brother's increasing envy and enmity until it culminated in the mischief god trying to destroy all of Jotunheim to prove himself worthy of the throne, didn't say much.)

'_Loki.'_ Thor gazed after his brother, before turning and leaving the Sanctum. Nothing he could say at that moment would help, and he felt whatever he did say, would simply exacerbate the situation. And that was just with his brother, he had no clue how his brother's female doppelganger would react. He sighed.

As Thor exited the Sanctum and headed to where Rogers and Strange waited, ready to head to the meeting between S.H.I.E.L.D and the country's government concerning Loki, someone peeked out of the window of a house across the street. Not an action suspicious in itself, but the furtive way they did so combined with the fact that the house in question had none of the usual signs it was inhabited - curtains, parked car, furnishing or lights of any sort - got the thunder god's attention.

He nearly started to head towards the house, only to be stopped by Rogers and Strange, the latter muttering 'don't' while the former grabbed his arm. "What? Who's…"

"U.S military, judging by the weapons and uniform." Rogers replied, keeping his voice down and making sure not to peek incessantly at the house or an innocuous looking car parked down the street. "Doctor and I noticed them while waiting for you. They seem to be waiting for us to leave the vicinity."

"What? Why?" Thor watched Rogers, while instinctively trying to turn back towards the uninhabited house. It was from habit that he turned his blinded eye towards the Midgardians watching the Sanctum, keeping them unaware of his knowledge of their presence.

"Likely to attempt capture of Loki." Strange drawled and prodded the thunder god towards the van Thor and Rogers had arrived in. "Rogers just finished telling me that the meeting about the Statue of Liberty didn't go well. At all. And that you practically stormed out of the meeting, adamant that you wouldn't allow your brother to be imprisoned. Or interrogated."

Thor's face lit with anger. "Just let them try." He growled, determined more than ever to confront the people watching the Sanctum. Strange sighed and simply portalled the thunder god away, stepping through another portal after gesturing to Rogers. The other Avenger quickly got into the van, shutting the door, before being portalled away himself to a lookout point overlooking the Sanctum. Moments later the van started to drive off, remotely driven by Stark, to convince those watching that Strange and the Avengers had all left.

* * *

0

Gray eyes peered into piercing sea-green ones as Reyda waited, her physical exam of Lokki concluded although it wasn't as thorough as the Asgardian doctor would've preferred. It _was_ as thorough as she was comfortable being, at least until the female Jotunn answered some questions. The hyper-active frost was troublesome enough and warranted caution, but the moment Reyda touched the mischief goddess's abdomen, she'd paled. Warranting _caution_ was an understatement.

"Please answer completely and truthfully." Said Reyda, keeping her tone steady and neutral; her gaze sweeping over Lokki's suddenly inexpressive face. The frost giantess' demeanor, though still poised, had shifted with the doctor's first question. A question that still hung in the air, palpable and needing no repeat.

How many times had she, Lokki, miscarried?

After about a minute of silence, her patient refusing to answer, Reyda sighed. "Milady, I cannot give you the best care if you don't…."

"Four." Lokki cut across the Asgardian doctor, finally getting out the answer, her throat hoarse as she swallowed back her emotions. The seidr cuffs around her wrists prevented her from hiding such behind an illusion, prevented her from hiding the paleness of her cheeks at Reyda's question and the redness around her eyes. "Four times."

"Four?" Reyda drew in a breath, her lips parting in horror as her thoughts filled with everything she knew about Jotunn pregnancy. Female frost giants became more tender around the womb area the more unsuccessful pregnancies they had and their frost more active. Having touched Lokki's abdomen, noting how sensitive it was and tender as well as how active was the goddess' frost, she had expected to hear an answer of two. _Maybe_ three. No more than that, as a Jotunn's fertility cycles generally ceased if more than three pregnancies were lost. "This is your fifth pregnancy?"

Lokki nodded.

Reyda swallowed, shaking internally. Every part of her wanting to express her trepidation and horror. Not just from empathy for the Jotunn, but from the knowledge that her 'expertise' in Frost giant pregnancy wasn't near enough to deal with this. The more times a Jotunn miscarried, the harder it would be to carry to the minimum weeks needed for a successful birth. "Have you ever carried to term?"

"..." Lokki glanced at the doctor, her sea-colored irises having been focused on the paintings adorning the wall across from her. "By term do you mean minimum weeks or maximum?"

"Either." Reyda replied, chiding herself for foolishness the next second. The mischief goddess' size, although tall and decent by Asgardian standards, was runty by Jotunn. There was zero possibility that Lokki had carried to the max gestation week limit for Jotunn. Doing so would've meant death for the goddess during labor. Unlike Asgardians or Midgardians, Jotunn females had a range in which it was possible to give birth to a healthy baby with an over 90 percent survival rate. This was on top of a gestational period over double the length of a Midgardian - 90 weeks instead of 40. Carrying for longer than the minimum gestational time simply resulted in larger births rather than runty ones. "I meant the minimum 50 weeks."

Seeing the Asgardian flustered, Lokki grinned, although subduedly. "I know. I wouldn't be able to carry to 90 weeks or anywhere beyond 62 without severely risking my health." She paused, chewing on her bottom lip. Standing before her, Reyda held her breath waiting for Lokki's answer. The frost giantess shook her head. "No. I've only ever reached 46 weeks."

"I am so sorry." Reyda blurted, noticing the watery film over the mischief goddess' eyes; something Lokki tried to mask, refusing to let the Asgardian see her emotions. After a few moments and a series of calming breaths from both women, the doctor asked her next question. "Do you know how far along you are?" She paused. "I know it's part of my job to determine that, but…It is difficult to gauge precisely without scans or further tests."

Caressing her abdomen protectively, Lokki glanced down at her hands, her expression unreadable. "...between 26 to 32 weeks."

Reyda's eyes widened and scrutinized the frost giantess' abdomen. "26…? But...you barely look more than 14 weeks…You…" The Asgardian doctor covered her mouth and shook her head, staring at the mischief goddess dumbfounded. Although Jotunn pregnancies developed much slower than Asgardian or Midgardian ones, they still gained significant weight by the 20th week. Lokki barely looked pregnant. "I'm sorry, but...you don't look...if you're serious, you haven't gained enough weight, I…."

"I gained." Lokki countered, bristling at the doctor's remark; her sea-hued eyes glaring annoyed at Reyda. Her jaw clenched and she peered with an angry, pale face at the Asgardian; at the same time her frost started to act up. Ice soon lined part of the seidr cuffs around her wrists. "My weight prior just wasn't..." She took a deep inhale, a steadying breath or two, while her frost calmed a bit. "I didn't get with child under the most, shall we say, ideal conditions…" The goddess closed her eyes, her demeanor turning more taciturn. "I thought it impossible, actually, you…" Lokki swallowed, opening her eyes to gazed at Reyda eye-to-eye. "The _you_ of my universe said it was impossible, that after my last…that any Jotunn who's miscarried as much as I…you said it was impossible."

Reyda blinked, briefly thrown by the reference to a parallel universe's version of her, and she bristled slightly at the accusatory edge in the frost giantess' voice. An edge meant for the version of her from Lokki's universe. "...Your current pregnancy was unexpected?"

Lokki's mouth twitched, her gaze grown cold. "_Very_. If I'd known…" Shaking her head, she frowned, muttering the rest of her sentence under her breath. The next moment she shrugged and asked if they were done, muttering that she was hungry while already walking to the door.

"Almost. Just one more question." Reyda replied, while Lokki shrugged and stopped just before opening the door, her hand on the handle. "The father of your baby…"

"No." Lokki spat, her body suddenly completely tense. "I will _truthfully_ answer any questions you deem important to ensure I have a successful pregnancy. But I will not answer that."

"You didn't even hear my full question."

The frost giantess spun around and scowled at Reyda, vehemence coloring her irises. "The only thing relevant about _him_ to you as my obstetrician is he isn't Jotunn. Nothing else is relevant. And I will answer nothing else about that...about _him_."

Reyda swallowed, shivering at Lokki's glare and at the Jotunn's spite-filled, venomous tone. Her breath caught in her throat and she closed her eyes to settle her trembling. As she opened them she realized Lokki had left the room, and she exhaled.

After a few moments standing there alone in the room, a loud crash drew her attention, followed by cursing and sucking in of breath, the sound similar to a hiss of pain.

* * *

~0~

"Norns!" Loki hissed and wrenched back his hand from the door handle, his fingertips blistered. After perusing the library, rereading a few of the safe books that Strange didn't mind the mischief god reading, he had quickly grown bored. Not even peeking into Strange and Wong's rooms to see what tricks he could play assuaged the tedium. For a moment he considered peeking in his doppelganger's room, and perhaps glean just how alike they were, but decided against it. Instead he decided to leave.

His first clue that something was up should've been being unable to simply teleport out of the Sanctum. Ordinarily no one aside from Sanctum wizards could portal in or out, but Strange had bent the protection spell to allow Loki to leave by magic. Just as long as the god took nothing belonging to the Sanctum with him. Allowing this saved them the hassle of escorting Loki out after every visit, which sometimes occurred multiple times a day. (He was marked as a potential threat by the Sanctum itself, thus he wasn't allowed to simply leave unsearched.)

His second clue...well, that was the strong magical protection brimming from the front door itself. That should've given him pause, but instead he ignored it and tried leaving the Sanctum. Only to be welcomed by pain as he grabbed the knob. The strength of its magical protection was enough to blister his skin, burning him despite his Frost Giant heritage.

"What the fuck!" The mischief god cussed, glaring at his fingers then at the door knob; his sea-colored irises brimming with irritation. It increased when he heard Reyda hurrying towards him.

"Is everything okay?" Asked the Asgardian lady, her gray eyes locking on Loki's blistered fingertips. She quickly approached, only pausing briefly to think about how it could even be possible to burn a Jotunn. It must have been through whatever seidr or magic the Midgardian sorcerers used - flame alone wouldn't be enough. "Are you…"

"I'm fine." The mischief god swiped his hand away from Reyda's reach, not feeling like dealing with the healer's concern. Although he enjoyed such attention normally, having received it so rarely growing up and usually only after manipulating the other party, Loki was focused on the protective magic that had scathed him. Was it possible that the Midgardian wizard wanted to keep him prisoner? That despite what Strange said about explaining the misunderstanding to the government, they were going to lock him up anyway? He glared hatefully at the door.

"Hm? What…" Reyda gazed up at Loki, absently reaching for the door handle herself. Before she touched it, Wong called out from upstairs.

"Don't!" The monk warned while descending the stairs, using a minor magic of his own to prevent the Asgardian healer from accidentally touching the doorknob. "Strange activated the Sanctum's Sanctuary Protection spell before he left. No one but Sanctum cleared wizards or those escorted by them can enter or leave."

"Oh." Muttered Reyda, while the mischief god beside her turned to face the monk.

"..." Loki glowered at Wong, while using his seidr to alleviate the pain from his fingers as well as mask the damage. "You could've warned me before I tried leaving. I passed by you on my way down. You could've said something."

Wong simply shrugged, amused by the mischief god's frustration. The thought to warn the trickster had crossed his mind, but a part of him that disliked the god had argued that thought down. And he didn't regret it.

"I see." Loki seethed, before shifting his frown into a calm smirk; one identical to any he wore during his captivity in Asgard's dungeon. That expression much more sinister. Vehement. Wong felt a shiver go up his back, something that made the mischief god's smirk widen. "Where's Selfie, by the way?"

"Selfie…?" Reyda queried, gazing up at the mischief god before glancing at Wong; the Midgardian's face filled with worry.

"My female double." Replied Loki, his smirk spreading at Wong's horrified demeanor - the look on the Midgardian wizard's face revealing he knew about Lokki's condition; something Loki had been unsure about, considering the monk had gone upstairs before the mischief god had blurted the fact out earlier. "She at least should be warned, no? It would be dreadful if something happened to her pregnancy because Wiz here decided to be spiteful."

Reyda gasped and nodded vigorously, turning towards the Midgardian. Before she could demand Wong help warn Lokki, a shout and loud banging caused them to jump. The shout belonging to the female Jotunn. Face drained, Reyda hurried towards the sound along with Wong.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Robbed That Smiles**

Chapter 06:

* * *

"You better send me back, wizard!" Thor rounded on Strange after the man stepped through another portal, their surroundings some official appearing offices similar to those the thunder god had been to an hour or so ago. "The cowards are planning to apprehend my brother and lock him up for something that _you_ did!"

Strange threw Thor a look, one both condescending and screaming at the thunder god's audacity to not trust him. "He's safe. No one will be able to get in or out of the New York Sanctum without a Sanctum approved sorcerer allowing it. That means myself or Wong." The Midgardian sorcerer paused, considering the thunder god's angry confusion. "Now, do you want to convince the US government to not lock up your brother in a civil manner? Or would you rather go knocking heads in to help him escape? Mind you the latter option could have ramifications for New Asgard, seeing as you're your peoples leader."

Thor bristled. "I will not sacrifice my brother nor will I endanger my people." He glowered at Strange, his clenched fist itching to strike the other man. Ever since his meeting earlier that day where he learned about the newest statue fiasco and saw how quick S.H.I.E.L.D and the US officials were to place blame solely on Loki, the thunder god was furious. It made him second guess his decision to bring his people to Midgard after Asgard's destruction. "You will clear things up, wizard."

"I will do what I can." Strange replied, while Thor scowled, annoyed by the sorcerer's answer. Recognizing the rash anger brimming in Thor, Strange stepped away from the thunder god's reach before continuing. "But I doubt it will be as easy as my confessing. Sending military to the New York Sanctum and waiting for us to leave, just to capture your brother seems more serious than to be simply about a statue."

"You'd be right." Came a voice, drawing their attention. The owner, a middle aged man dressed in a blue-gray suit and dark loafers, strode forward. Clean-shaven with a mess of burnt sienna hair on his head, eyes pale gray, the man peered at Thor and Strange. Neither recognized the man, and there were a few moments of looming silence as they gauged each other. "Agent Finley J. Morfield." The man introduced himself, flashing his credentials as he did so. "And you are Dr. Stephen Strange and Mr. Thor Odinson. It is an honor to meet both of you. I am a...admirer of yours. Of your team."

Thor scowled, his expression saying all he needed: That he didn't care who the other man was, and that the agent needed to buzz off, the thunder god not being in the mood to deal with the Midgardian. Dr. Strange's reaction was different. The wizard gave his fellow human a careful glance over, having caught the whole of the other's credentials in his photographic memory.

"Agent Morfield, what is the Department of Mediation and Evasive Defenses for the United States of America? It isn't a section of US defense or intelligence that I'm familiar with." Strange queried the other man, scrutinizing him.

"It's a new department. An offshoot of S.H.I.E.L.D, similar in scope but designed to be separate from it." Finley Morfield replied. "Ever since it was revealed that Hydra had managed to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D, it was decided best to not put all our eggs in one basket - as the saying goes. To prevent such a thing happening again."

"Ah," Strange thought for a moment. "Since you're here rather than S.H.I.E.L.D, should I assume it's your department behind the US military that are camped outside the New York Sanctum waiting to storm the building?" The surgeon-turned-sorcerer inquired, while beside him Thor glanced at him and then at Morfield.

"Not exactly." The agent replied, causing both Avengers to become suspicious. Wary. "On the contrary, my department is what's keeping S.H.I.E.L.D or other arms of government from just bringing you all in. They want to. Ever since one of Loki's pranks last year nearly caused nuclear war to break out, everyone's been wanting him captured and sealed away. They just needed a reason."

The thunder god tensed and swallowed, understanding the prank to which the agent referred. Loki had 'kidnapped' a member of an important Midgardian family while pretending to be a member of an enemy country's ruling family. Things escalated after members of the enemy country caught on, but rather than out Loki's prank, they attempted to extort their enemy for weapons and territory in exchange for the kidnapped member's safe return. The extortion was stopped once Loki revealed his prank and released his 'kidnap victim,' furious that the Midgardians had taken advantage of the situation. The 'kidnap victim' himself had been in on the prank, a sheltered 20 year old who was enthralled by Loki's devil-may-care, do what you want, attitude.

The fallout in the weeks following that prank had horrified Thor, and he almost agreed to lock up Loki; relenting only after realizing that his brother had been shaken by how close his prank got to triggering nuclear Armageddon.

"Are you saying your department doesn't want Loki locked up?" Strange quirked an eyebrow, crossing his arms.

"On the contrary, we would prefer he was _secured_, in all honesty. The higher ups in my department just think it unwise to make an enemy out of the Asgardian refugees and their leader. After all Mr. Odinson here and his people could just leave the planet and come back in a few centuries or so to get revenge on our unsuspecting descendants." The agent turned to Thor as he said this, the tilt of his head and mirthful twist to his lip indicating he was partly joking, but mostly serious; the thunder god simply shook his head and started denying he would do or allow anything of the sort. "Our department's goal is to prevent conflict or the escalation thereof, using pragmatic means rather than being bound by ideology or nationalistic sentiment. We simply want to be positive your brother isn't a threat, but not in a way that will make you hostile."

"Then call off your military. Loki isn't behind this most recent statue prank." Thor replied.

"That...is not about the statue. The statue is just an excuse S.H.I.E.L.D is using. Let's talk in here." Morfield gestured towards a conference room door, and after the three of them entered he elaborated; the door clicking shut as he spoke. "Today's prank is nothing compared to last week's. Lady Liberty replaced with a statue of the god of lies? Accompanied by a citywide illusion of destruction? That was much more serious than swapping the poem at the base or making the whole statue 7 inches off." Morfield caught Strange's curious gaze. "Yes, that part was noticed. You rebuilt the statue so every part of it is about 7 inches skewed from the original."

"7.117 inches to be exact." Strange corrected, earning a raised eyebrow from Thor and an unfazed stare from Morfield. "Anyway, if S.H.I.E.L.D is so gung-ho on apprehending Loki, why didn't they just do it last week? Rather than issue the ultimatum: statue or prison?" There was another pause as the wizard realized the answer to his question from the agent's demeanor. "Ah...That ultimatum was from your department. Not S.H.I.E.L.D."

Morfield tilted his head in an acknowledging gesture, while Thor bristled, his good eye narrowed furiously. "It was our idea. Washington was ready to declare war on Loki last week for that prank. They took it as a hostile attack, thinking he was attempting to resume his conquest of Earth. My department thought otherwise. The Ultimatum was a test to prove it."

"Hn." Thor huffed, standing up straighter and more menacingly over the shorter by a quarter foot man. "Well, my brother passed your test. He restored the statue as best he could." The thunder god explained, further divulging with the agent that they were in the process of recovering the real statue from where Loki had hidden it after he supplanted it with his own. "My brother isn't a threat."

"I believe you. And I am sure many in Washington do as well. Your word has been good as gold, Mr. Odinson, since your people asked for Asylum on Earth three years ago and you've been an asset in defending the planet. It's the main reason your brother has been given any leeway." Morfield watched as Thor's expression shifted to slight confusion, while Strange just grimaced without surprise. "Your brother has been given lots of leeway, Mr. Odinson. Lots. Or do you really think fines and community service are the usual punishments doled out for the sort of problems Mr. Loki causes with his pranks?" The agent asked before immediately waving his hand in a dismissive gesture, when Thor started to protest. "But that's all moot. Most countries have effectively given Loki diplomatic immunity just so they don't have risk angering you or arresting him."

"Diplomatic Immunity…?" Thor faltered, his confusion prompting Strange to explain the concept of legal immunity given to diplomats; the thunder god quietly absorbed his fellow Avenger's words. His expression grew more remorseful and righteous as he realized the extent of leniency Loki had been given by the Midgardians. "But my brother isn't…"

"What is important is what showed up on radar recently." The agent continued, ignoring Thor's interruption. "Scientists in S.H.I.E.L.D, NASA, and other agencies caught a blip - an energy signal that struck alarm bells through the entire science and research sector. One belonging to something we've studied before, a handful of years ago." Morfield paused, glancing from Thor to Strange and back. "The Tesseract." He focused on Thor. The thunder god tensed and his good eye widened. "The artifact that your brother stole before, when he attempted to conquer earth, and which you subsequently brought back to Asgard. Its energy signal was recently picked up on Earth."

* * *

~0~

"...hell!" Lokki hollered and slammed shut a cabinet door, her stomach rumbling. The nausea she'd felt earlier at the cafe had abated and she felt ravenous. Prodded by that and by Reyda's exclamation that she hadn't gained enough weight, Lokki had gone to the makeshift kitchen to search for something edible. But being more of a breakroom to keep snacks than to prepare meals, as the current Sanctum's residents were more inclined to eat out rather than in, she'd found little to entice her.

What she did find was both unhealthy and unappetizing, and she glowered at the food. Although nutritious for Midgardians to some extent, the snacks that were appetizing weren't at all nutritious for a pregnant Jotunn. And though with her previous pregnancies she'd been less vigilant, Lokki didn't feel like settling for processed Midgardian junk. The raisin bread muffin from the cafe that morning had been enough processed crap for the day.

"Milady, are you al…" Reyda hurried into the makeshift kitchen, Wong directly behind her. Both of their expressions were saturated with concern, fearful that the pregnant goddess may have been hurt by the Sanctum's security spell. Their fear shifted to confusion seeing Lokki glowering at the cabinet. "...right?"

"Miss Lo…."

Noticing their approach, Lokki faced Wong and Reyda, sulking and irritable. Addressing the monk, she demanded. "Go get me something to eat. I'm hungry. You don't have anything good to eat here."

Wong blinked. "That's why you shouted? You're just…"

"Starving? Yes." The frost giantess snapped, staring furiously at the Midgardian. "What? Did you think I hadn't noticed the Sanctuary Spell and tried leaving? Seriously?" Lokki crossed her arms and shook her head. "In what universe would I be so oblivious I'd…."

"...be fooled by such a thing?" Interjected Loki, the mischief god siding up next to his doppelganger; his affect schooled in complete denial that he himself had been so oblivious mere moments ago. Having been listening out of sight, hoping to observe his double's shocked response to being trapped in the Sanctum, he'd felt his pride bruise the moment Lokki mentioned the Sanctuary spell. _She_ hadn't missed it. "Unthinkable." The mischief god smoothly lied, knowing that Wong and Reyda being witnesses to his injury wouldn't be fooled, but hoping he could fool his doppelganger. It was a relishing thought, managing to fool himself of sorts.

Lokki grimaced, but said nothing to refute the mischief god. Instead she just repeated her demand that Wong go fetch her something to eat. "You're the only one of us who can leave while Sanctuary is in effect." She countered when the monk tried refusing her request, claiming he wasn't her errand boy. "I am pregnant, hungry, and you have nothing I can eat here."

"There's snacks." Wong motioned towards the cabinets Lokki had just searched through; contained within were shelf stable goodies like fruit juice, nuts, chips. Some cookies. The least processed thing being the nuts.

Lokki just glared at Wong.

"Lady Lokki's right." Reyda spoke up, looking over the snacks in the cabinets. During the three years she and her fellow Asgardians had lived on Midgard, she had researched Midgardian cuisine. Researched the additives and ingredients they used, and their methods for preparing food. As a healer and particularly as a Maternity doctor, she needed to know what foods were right for her Asgardian patients. "None of this is really healthy for her. If she was Asgardian, perhaps. But Jotunns have specific nutrition needs during gestation. Raw and unprocessed produce, sparsely cooked meats. Or fully cooked meats that are cooled considerably. The colder the better, considering Midgard is much warmer than Jotunheim."

"See? My doctor says I can't have any of this...junk." Said Lokki, even as she eyed the cookies Reyda removed from in the cabinet while searching through it. The frost giantess hadn't bothered with the cookies before, other than giving them a brief glance, knowing from her universe that Midgardian sweets weren't good for her. Despite how delicious they were. Noticing the wording on the wrapper around the cookies, Lokki licked her lips and gazed longingly at it. "Oatmeal raisin…that...that's not too unhealthy, right?" She leaned over Reyda and attempted to swipe the cookie package, only for the Asgardian to move it out from Lokki's reach, shaking her head.

"No." Reyda frowned as her attempt at siding with Lokki and insisting Wong get the Jotunn something nutritious to eat lost steam. The Midgardian monk appeared less inclined to get the frost giantess proper food now that Lokki apparently found something she liked amid the snacks. "Midgardian grains and oats are not good for pregnant Jotunn."

"...how about just the raisins?" Lokki muttered, frowning when Reyda still shook her head, the Asgardian mentioning something about Midgardians adding too much sugar. Before the frost giantess could protest further or make another grab for the package, it was taken from Reyda. By Loki.

"I'll take that." The mischief god smirked, before handing the cookies to his doppelganger. He watched her beam and immediately rip open the package, savoring the sweets. Reyda just sighed, exasperated but at the same time not about to deny her pregnant patient sustenance, even if it wasn't optimal. The oatmeal cookies were among the least objectionable foods available to Lokki at the moment, the only better option being the nuts mixture.

"Fine for now. But we'll need to talk later about what you need, nutrition-wise." Said Reyda to Lokki, before addressing Wong. "Would you know why this Sanctuary spell was activated? To keep someone in or keep someone out?"

Wong started to reply, but a loud alarm reverberated through the Sanctum. The sound warning that someone was trying to access the building despite the Sanctuary Spell. But unlike Loki's attempted exit, whoever was trying to enter was doing so through a portal. A portal originating from one of the other Sanctums. And cast by a fellow Kamar-Taj sorcerer, but not one approved to pass the magical lockdown.

The monk's demeanor shifted from surprise to curiosity, while hurried footsteps outside approached the Sanctum. There was a large crashing noise outside as the Sanctuary Spell repelled whoever had approached.

* * *

~0~

"How's it looking?" Asked Stark through the iron suit he'd sent to aid Rogers in the latter's surveillance on the New York Sanctum. The mecha suit had just arrived next to the Avenger, barely doing more than a brief scan of the perimeter.

"None of them have made a move yet." Rogers replied, not bothering to more than glance at the iron suit. His focus was set on the undercover soldiers waiting in the abandoned house and by the unmarked car parked down the street. As a veteran himself, he had no desire to fight against fellow US soldiers. "Are you sure they will?"

"Absolutely. If this was just about a prank, they would have had us detain Loki as we've done for the past three years. Even if Thor refused, S.H.I.E.L.D would've requested the rest of us bring in Reindeer Games." Stark said through the iron suit, while he scanned through the files displayed on his computer monitor. "You recall Mischief Night two years ago, right?"

"Yeah." Rogers nodded, thinking about the eve of halloween two years back. Loki, having learned about the tradition to pull tricks on people around everyone's favorite costume holiday, pulled non-stop pranks on everyone. Both the Avengers and random strangers. None of the pranks themselves were dangerous or terribly bad-taste, but his trickery was excessive. Enough that the local government asked the Avengers to curtail the mischief god's antics. Thor had refused, not seeing how non-dangerous pranks done on a night set aside for such warranted detaining his brother. "I admit, it is unusual not to ask us to bring Loki in first."

"Right, and…"

A shrill alarm cut Stark off, the noise coming from the direction of the Sanctum. At the same time another alarm sounded, this one from Stark's end and originating from his computer. The inventor immediately focused on the tower alarm, while Rogers focused on the Sanctum, as did the iron suit, Stark having switched it to defend mode over surveillance.

Rogers hurried down from his lookout point, intent on aiding in protecting the Sanctum against whatever threat triggered the alarm. He stopped midway from his perch when he caught sight of one of the soldiers from the abandoned house doing what he was. It happened so quickly, he hardly registered the soldier being repelled from the Sanctum by whatever protection spell Strange had set.

His eyes widened, realization sinking in; it sunk in faster once he realized that the iron suit Stark had left to help him, though closer to the building now than him, wasn't entering. Instead it seemed to be scanning the Sanctum, attempting to find a way through the protection barrier. And so far failing.

* * *

~0~

"The Tesseract? You're sure it was the Tesseract your scanners picked up?" Thor ran his hand through his hair, frowning heavily at the Midgardian agent.

Behind the thunder god Strange also frowned, though his dismay was equally spread between Morfield and Thor. Having never fully believed that Loki was truthful about leaving the Tesseract behind in Asgard, he wasn't put off by the agent's claim. Nor was he surprised by the actions S.H.I.E.L.D and Morfield's department took so far, considering how dangerous the artifact could be in enemy hands.

Not that the mischief god was an enemy exactly, but he was dangerous. And the idea of Loki having possession of the Tesseract made Strange wary - even if the trickster had no true plan to harm them or Earth, the god favored chaos too much.

"S.H.I.E.L.D's scanners did, but yes. We're sure."

Morfield answered Thor, matching the god's glower with a piercing stare of his own.

Thor shook his head. "That's impossible. The Tesseract was destroyed with Asgard. Three years ago."

"Did your brother tell you that?"

Thor bristled and took a step towards Morfield, furious. Despite his previous misgivings about Loki's claim of not possessing the powerful artifact, the thunder god refused now to disbelieve his brother. He certainly refused to simply listen to the stranger in front of him, a stranger who knew nothing of his family, speak as though he knew more about Thor's family than Thor.

"Calm down." Strange grabbed Thor's arm, his own thoughts already moving on from his suspicion of Loki. Holding the thunder god back, the wizard addressed the agent. "Agent Morfield, when exactly did the Tesseract get picked up on radar? I assume not until after the statue fiasco nine days ago."

"The day of actually." Morfield replied after a few seconds of hesitance, his inscrutable gaze shifting towards the wizard after glancing at the god. "A recent recruit without knowledge of the Tesseract discovered its signal, and thus it wasn't brought to the attention of the higher ups in S.H.I.E.L.D until that night."

"I see." Muttered Strange, before letting go of Thor. "The signal wouldn't have happened to originate in New York City, would it?" The wizard asked, not needing to bother waiting for a verbal answer as Morfield's suspicious glower was enough. Thor glared at Strange.

"Loki isn't behind…"

"Good day, agent." Strange cut across Thor and ignored the blistering scowl the thunder god gave, his attention focused on Morfield. "But I agree with my colleague here, his brother is neither in possession of nor behind the resurfacing of the Tesseract."

"What makes you think that?"

"Aside from the fact that he's had three years to use it unfettered, but didn't?" Replied Strange, while Thor gazed curiously at him, having caught the emphasis the wizard placed on the word 'brother.' The thunder god kept quiet though, realizing the wizard's suspicion and also the reason why Strange wasn't keen to share it with Agent Morfield. "A hunch. Now if you would excuse…"

"No." Interrupted Morfield, while the door to the conference room opened and people entered; some sort of combat guard or soldiers judging by their footsteps. Strange and Thor shared a look, wondering at the agent's foolishness; neither one surprised by the agent's sudden shift in tactics. Morfield did say earlier that the government wanted to bring them all in.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Robbed That Smiles**

Chapter 07:

* * *

"I take it you weren't expecting this." Muttered Loki to Wong as he and the monk stood facing a Midgardian wizard.

Following the alarm shrieking through the Sanctum, Wong had hurried towards where the alarm was loudest - which was upstairs - while the mischief god followed behind. With the intent to sneak off to the library, if by chance whoever was portalling in actually broke through the Sanctuary Spell. Midgardian magic was different than his own, but not so much that it didn't have the same drawbacks. Chiefly that any spell strong enough to break through the Sanctuary magic would consequently be strong enough to break the protection lock on the library. Though whether it did so inadvertently or not relied on how precise the caster was.

Loki had been just about to check, when the portal was torn open feet from the library and the Midgardian stepped through. Male, bronze skinned and wearing robes similar to Wong, this sorcerer was unknown to Loki, though judging by the monk's reaction, Wong knew the intruder. Called him Mordo.

"Friend of yours?" Loki asked, curious by the conflicting body language displayed by the monk. Though Wong switched to an offensive pose the moment he recognized the other man, he made no move to launch an assault. Neither did the other.

"At one time." Mordo spoke before Wong, while two other people stepped through the portal, after which it closed. One was definitely Midgardian, but the other...Loki could swear wasn't despite looking completely the part. Whether through illusion or hologram, the mischief god found it difficult to determine, which irritated him. "We parted ways a while ago."

"Whatever it is you're here for, you best leave." Wong scowled, still holding his fight stance. Although it took a while to catch on to what had been happening, he and Strange had unearthed their former colleague's antics since leaving. Robbing Kamar-Taj students' magic, even those who chose normal lives over defending the Sanctums. Rendering many of them crippled or worse once the magic 'healing' them was gone. "I won't warn you again."

"Really." Was all Mordo said before attacking, his two companions joining in the same second.

Leaving the two Midgardian wizards to duke it out between them, Loki led the companions away. Making quick work of the Midgardian - a brawler rather than sorcerer - by knocking him over the railing using an illusion trick, he then focused his attention on the non-Midgardian. This one wasn't a sorcerer either, but did use daggers as deftly as the mischief god.

Loki grinned at his opponent, dodging and blocking the other's thrusts for a few minutes, before throwing one of his daggers and nicking the guy's shoulder. Although he was aiming for his lung, he just missed when the brute dodged. Despite his annoyance, Loki just smiled, smugly. The next second his opponent lunged forward at him, only to phase through the mischief god's illusionary form.

Reappearing behind the faux-Midgardian, having shapeshifted into the thrown dagger precisely at the right moment, Loki summoned another dagger and threw it at his opponent's back. His grin faltered when this attack was dodged as well.

"Come on. I've been practicing that for weeks. If some brats in a comic can hoodwink someone with that move then…" He trailed off and instead scowled, thinking about the Midgardian book series he'd read recently on the e-reader the Avenger's had bought him. Composed mostly of drawings with dialogue - a comic or manga as some annoying Midgardians had insisted - he hadn't been enthralled at the prospect of reading it, but quickly became hooked as the Midgardians say. Especially after the book gave him an idea for an excellent prank, one dealing with the Midgardian's Mt. Rushmore. "...I am not doing the other move." Loki muttered to himself, as his thought of the visual novel series reminded him of another 'prank move' he had wanted to try. At least before his female doppelganger had ruined it by practically doing the same thing in front of Stark, flirting throughout.

His opponent thrusting a dagger at him pulled the mischief god's focus back to the fight, and he smoothly dodged the strike. Expression inscrutable as he evaded another thrust, Loki led the faux-Midgardian closer to the stairs and banister. The two kept up the attacking and dodging, every move of Loki's filled with finesse while only the faux-Midgardian's dodging showed any. There was skill, but each dagger thrust contained more brute strength than necessary. Something Loki rolled his eyes at.

"If you honestly think one of those is going to connect with me…" Smirk on his face, Loki shook his head. Seconds later he tripped up when sidestepping out of the way of a particularly heavy dagger strike and it connected, right to his gut. Or through, as the illusion faded and the faux-Midgardian tripped forward, propelled by the momentum of his attack. Towards the railing.

Expecting this, the faux-Midgardian managed to change his trajectory with quick footwork, though his forward momentum changed little. He was already falling against the windowsill and getting zapped by the protective spell around the Sanctum, before he realized the mischief god had tricked him.

Loki simply grinned and watched his opponent slide to the floor, with a bored gleam in his sea-hued eyes. A frantic scream from below him wrenched his attention away, his eyebrows raising when he recognized Reyda's voice.

* * *

~0~

Her wild eyes glowing crimson and her skin icy blue, Lokki squeezed the Midgardian's throat, the sheer cold of her skin causing the man's neck to grow red. The wrath in the frost giantess' face, its pure unadulterated fury, was terrifying to behold. It silenced Reyda watching to the side and caused the Midgardian intruder's eyes to widen into saucers, as well as nearly making him empty his bladder and bowels.

"You dare," Lokki spat, while her hand that was not squeezing the Midgardian's throat ran over her abdomen. Her fingers traced the fresh cut, small and crusted over by protective frost, that the intruder had placed there. Shortly after being knocked over the railing by the god of mischief, the Midgardian had picked himself up and noticed the two women. And whether because he thought it would make things sway his way or if he honestly thought the two were a threat, he'd gone after them. Despite neither doing anything to aid in the fight upstairs. "You dare endanger my child, worm?"

Lokki pushed the Midgardian against the wall, nearly cracking the wooden panel. It certainly caused her victim to flinch and open his mouth, trying to gasp in pain. All that came out was air, Lokki's frost numbing his vocal cords. His eyes locked on the goddess, pleading soundlessly for mercy, while Lokki simply barked a curt laugh. Mirthless. The type of laugh that is barely more than a breathy, forced-cough noise. She removed her hand from her abdomen and instead summoned a dagger, its blade incredibly thin and sharp.

The magic-suppressing cuffs lay at her feet, the Midgardian's swipe at her abdomen with his iron-knuckled fists having triggered a safety Strange had woven into it. If at any time she or her child were in mortal danger, the cuffs would open and drop off, allowing her to defend herself. The moment the Midgardian's fist swung past her and one of the spikes on his brass-knuckles sliced her skin, the cuffs released her.

Within seconds she had shifted to Jotunn form and grabbed the Midgardian by the throat. All while the fight upstairs waged on.

"What shall I do to you?" Lokki purred, the sound menacing. Nothing about her soft anymore. "You can't scream. Can't make a sound." She raised the dagger, trailing its keen blade over the Midgardian's cheek. It cut through his skin like paper, leaving an angry red trail behind. She did the same to his other cheek. "There are so many pain points on a mortal's body, so many places that elicit screams of agony." There was a pause while she lifted her dagger from the man's face, only to immediately dig it into one of his fingertips. "I care little for screams. But it doesn't mean I'm above torture. Used to be. Used to prefer other means to interrogate or punish. Gentler ways. Manipulative but gentler." There was another pause and she removed her dagger from the Midgardian's finger. "My ex-husband would be really angry if he saw me doing this. So would many of his colleagues." She pushed her dagger into another of the man's fingers, then another and gave a cold laugh. "But, well, my universe is dead. Everyone I cared about gone. And you were going to harm _the one thing that matters at all to me_?"

I'm sorry. The Midgardian mouthed, unable to speak; tears streamed down his cheeks, mingling with the blood dripping from the cut. By the scent coming from him, he had relieved himself during the torture. Unable to scream and terrified. At this time the sounds of combat upstairs had lessened, though Lokki didn't notice. She merely pulled out her dagger from the man's pinky finger and sliced across his entire line of fingers. Her dagger cut through the flesh and bone, while her crimson eyes stared at the Midgardian's mouth. Watching him scream soundlessly, while behind her Reyda squealed in horror watching the maimed ends of the man's fingers hit the floor.

"Sorry doesn't _cut_ it." Lokki smirked, the pun bringing the first real laughter to her lips, though it was filled with cruelty. Lifting her dagger to the man's chest, she hovered it over the left side of his chest. "Punctured lungs are a terrible way to die, or so I've heard. Should do perfect for a wormy quim like you."

"What are you…" Loki grabbed hold of his doppelganger's wrist just as she attempted to plunge it into the Midgardian. Drawn by the Asgardian woman's shrill scream, he'd gone downstairs to check, and saw the terrified Reyda gaping at Lokki and the Midgardian. Loki's brow furrowed a bit and his eyes roamed over the man pinned against the wall and his injuries, noticing the bloody ends of the man's fingers. And the hints of bone peeking through the crimson. Taking this in, his nose scrunching up at the stench of the Midgardian's bladder that had soaked the man's trousers, Loki viewed the intruder with disgust but also an uneasiness. If his brother saw this… If Stark… Or Banner…. "Why?"

Lokki glared at her double, understanding his single word question but not caring to answer it. Instead she tried to wrench her arm free from Loki's grip, only for him to pick up the magic suppressing cuffs and clap them over Lokki's wrists. The frost giantess' scarlet eyes widened at the action, stopping her effort to pull her arm away. Her other hand was still clasped around the Midgardian's throat.

"You…" She gazed up at Loki, bewildered. Truth be told, the mischief god himself was surprised at how easily he rebound his doppelganger. It was the safer option for himself, sure enough, but it was also a pseudo-form of self-sabotage.

"Tell me." Loki growled, determined to understand why the woman hadn't simply killed the Midgardian intruder. Despite the Avengers' staunch stance against allowing murder, the mischief god understood that killing a Midgardian in defence was granted some leniency. Torture was not. It was, however, a surefire way to piss off his brother and the Avengers. His eyes narrowed when his doppelganger didn't respond. "They'll lock you up!"

"...So?" Was all Lokki verbalized, while her stare reflected a jaded disbelief that her male counterpart actually cared. That whatever happened to her shouldn't matter to him.

The mischief god quietly seethed, and grabbed his female self's other arm, wrenching her hand from the Midgardian's throat. "It matters. The bastard Midgardians already want to lock me up for some statue, if they find out our connection and discover this...mess…" Loki gestured his head to the Midgardian who was now sitting on the floor, unable to stand and cradling his maimed hand against him. "No way will they give up trying to imprison me, despite what that sorcerer-doctor admits."

Lips pursed, Lokki stared at her male doppelganger, while he met hers with his own piercing glare. Wordlessly demanding she explain herself.

"He attacked her." Reyda answered instead of the mischief goddess. "Despite us both telling him she was with child. He even...he deliberately targeted her abdomen after we said that."

Loki stiffened, turning to look at the Asgardian, his muscles and jaw pulled taut. It took every ounce of willpower he had to not let go of Lokki and resume where she'd left off. The life his doppelganger carried inside her wasn't his, not in the usual understanding of things; but Lokki was a version of himself. Similar to how he'd felt violated during Lokki's naked flirtation with Stark, he felt enraged by the Midgardian. By the man's audacity to attack as he had.

If he had a child and some worm tried killing him or her, Loki knew his reaction would be nearly identical to his doppelganger's. Except that his torture method would include more trickery and manipulation. More mind-fuckery in general.

"He what?" The mischief god scowled at the Midgardian cradling his maimed appendage on the floor. A hint of a cold smile graced Loki's lips when he saw the flinch the man gave at the sound of his voice. Releasing his female doppelganger's arms, he stepped towards the Midgardian, towering over the man. The expression on his face filled with disdain and a wild desire to put the cowering mortal in his place.

Something he got no chance to do, as there was a crash upstairs along with the noise of breaking wood, shattering glass. It sounded like a window with its frame had been burst through, broken by a large or heavy object thrown through it. In this case a person. Loki tensed, understanding implicitly who had been thrown - the Sanctuary Spell would've fried and repelled anyone here except Wong, as it had the faux-Midgardian.

"That...this is…." Lokki glanced around, her attention drawn initially by the sound; then by the shift in the air. The Sanctuary magic engulfing the Sanctum, protecting it from breach, vanished; triggered by the monk being forcibly ejected from the building. Barely a moment passed before the Sanctum's door was thrown open and footsteps came charging. Unfamiliar footsteps.

There were also familiar ones, accompanied by a familiar voice.

"Hold it." Steve Rogers said to the soldiers trying to storm the building, having cut off their approach with the least amount of force. Mostly just dodging past the handful of them to reach the foyer. "I know you have your orders, but this is all a misunderstanding." Rogers started explaining, reluctant to fight fellow US soldiers. "The statue…."

"This isn't about a statue." Mordo interrupted, standing at the top of the staircase. He'd just finished using his magic to send the iron suit Stark had sent to help through a portal. "That's a smokescreen. Something S.H.I.E.L.D and the US government decided to use to apprehend the god who thinks Earth is just his playground."

Roger listened to the sorcerer while holding back the soldiers, who thankfully seemed as reluctant to fight him directly as he was them. All he had to do was block their path heading further into the building. "If you have a problem with Thor's brother, or if he did something, you could simply tell us. We have developed a knack for apprehending him after all."

"I have little issue with him. He's not a human sorcerer, and I'm not S.H.I.E.L.D, nor the government." Said Mordo as he descended the stairs.

"But you're working for them."

"Actually…" Mordo muttered, the next second opening up a portal and sending the intruding soldiers into a void. Rogers' eyes widened in shock and horror. "I'm not."

"What did you do?! They better not be…" Rogers rounded on the rogue sorcerer, concerned for his fellow soldiers. Despite them charging the Sanctum, he was furious at the idea of something terrible happening to them.

"Dead? No. But they might prefer it." Mordo replied, cryptic. "Now where's Loki?"

"No idea. He's probably already left." Roger shrugged, while eyeing the other man. He wasn't sure how well his skill set would do against the wizard, especially one who could portal him away so deftly.

Mordo shook his head, amused by something the captain said. His reaction triggered alarm and confusion in Rogers, who leered silently at him. Keen to stop the wizard, whatever the man's scheme was. "...I wasn't asking about him."

Rogers froze and sucked in a breath. "What?"

"Come now. You and your team are not the only ones who know of the other one." Mordo clarified. "Where is she?"

Stiffening in surprise, Rogers faltered just a moment before he shook his head. "You're not getting her. Whatever it is you want her for, you're not getting her." The captain growled, glaring defiantly at Mordo. If this confrontation had happened yesterday or just a few hours earlier, he may not have been so adamant in his denying the other man. (He'd have still refused, just less forcefully.) But there was zero chance he would let a dangerous sorcerer near the pregnant woman.

Mordo simply stared wordlessly for a moment at Rogers, a silence that threatened to stretch until broken by sounds from further in the Sanctum. Originating from either the snack room or the lounge area. The wizard glanced towards the location, while Rogers instinctively moved forward to block him. Mordo simply opened and stepped through a portal into the other room, sidestepping the captain's defense and leaving him behind.

Rogers grimaced and hurried further into the Sanctum, towards where the sounds originated from. He got there within moments of Mordo approaching Lokki, and tensed, unsure of the sorcerer's intentions. Seeing how close the man got to the pregnant woman and that the magic-suppressing cuffs were around Lokki's forearms, he exclaimed. "Don't you even dare harm…"

"That's not my intent." Muttered Mordo, answering Rogers but staring at Lokki. There was less than a couple feet between them, and the goddess scowled down at the dark-skinned Midgardian. Her sea-hued eyes gleamed with curiosity and she glanced towards Rogers who approached nearer, ready to fight the human wizard. Noticing this, Mordo opened a portal just beneath the Avenger, transporting him away.

Lokki tilted her head. "Then what is?"

Mordo didn't answer for a moment, and just stared at the goddess with a peculiar look in his eyes. Then it shifted. "To give a warning: He knows and is coming for what is his."

The goddess narrowed her eyes. "He?" She asked in a demanding tone, but Mordo said nothing else, and instead just repeated himself. He portalled away before the Jotunn could grab hold of him and demand the sorcerer elaborate. The goddess glowered at the now empty space in front of her, silent for a few moments before her whole form shifted.

His shapeshifting spell dropped, Loki stood unmoving, curiosity and suspicion filling his eyes. He glanced towards the sideroom where Reyda had taken Lokki seconds before Mordo had portalled in, the goddess' retreat one the Asgardian healer insisted on considering the recent close-call with the pugilist. Leaving dealing with Mordo to Loki - it was simply on a whim that he decided to shapeshift into his female doppelganger, having overheard bits of Mordo and Rogers' conversation.

_'What are you hiding, Selfie?'_

* * *

~0~

"Too slow." Stark chided as he dodged his maul-wielding opponent's arcing swing and sent the brute toppling forward with a power blast to the torso. Hovering over the floor, his red and gold Iron Man suit covering him head to foot, he watched his opponent. The humanoid was of medium-large, muscular build and tall, towering two feet over Stark's height. Leather armor studded with brass covered the stranger, leaving only bits of the man's yellowish-gray skin visible.

"Gragh!" The humanoid growled, pulling itself and its maul up from where it'd tumbled. Its eyes a sharp, fiery amber locked on Stark, the inventor hardly reacting to them. The creature lunged again at the Iron Man, swinging its heavy two-handed maul above its head. Aiming for Stark who hovered just out of reach of the arcing blow. He dodged, repeating his previous counter.

He rolled his eyes when the humanoid got up and rushed at him using the same technique. "Again? You know I may have said this wasn't my first rodeo, but your dedication is astounding. I'm not even waving a red flag." Stark paused, glancing amusedly over his suit before continuing his quip. "Oh. My mistake." He grinned, not minding that his joke fell on only his and his opponent's ears.

"Grrrr." The humanoid growled and once more swung at Stark, this time changing it up by swinging the maul from the side rather than overhead. It didn't make any difference, as the billionaire inventor sidestepped the swing as easily as before. This time though, Stark grabbed the maul and pulled before sending the humanoid spiraling forward with a power blast.

The humanoid's grip around the bashing weapon slipped and it stumbled, falling into one of the inventor's workspace tables. It remained there, gasping for breath, while Stark watched. Holding the maul in his Iron Suit hands, the billionaire lowered himself to the floor. Curious.

"What? Had enough?" Stark asked, taking a few cautious steps towards the humanoid. Behind his closed helm, he watched the creature and the biometric scans his computer was doing of his opponent. There was no response, and he shrugged and issued a command to the computer to secure the humanoid.

It wasn't until seconds later that he realized something was wrong; the maul he'd disarmed from the humanoid wouldn't leave his hand. He tried to place it on a worktable and even throw it down, but to no avail. Whatever it was, it refused to leave his grasp. His fingers literally gripped tighter around the handle after his each attempt to drop the maul, despite him willing the opposite.

"What the fucking hell?" Stark mumbled, merely curious at first before the maul started getting heavier and colder. And colder. To the point he felt the shift in temperature through his Iron Suit, though the weight gain stopped well before his suit enhanced limit. The temperature drop continued to worsen, enough that his fingers beneath the glove of his Iron Suit showed the first signs of frostbite. He scowled. And started to remove his Suit, hoping the maul would simply stay attached to it.

"That's futile." The humanoid spoke, or rather a voice from the armlet around its upper arm did. Subtle, the band resembled the creature's skin, and the speaker hidden on its surface looked like a skin blemish. It was even partly implanted in the humanoid's arm. "An ancient curse imbibes the handle - you'll only be able to drop it by being disarmed or quenching its bloodthirst."

"Curse?" Stark rolled his eyes, scoffing at the idea initially before his brain reminded him that magic did exist. He'd encountered enough sorcerers in recent years to shift his belief on such a thing, though he doubted curses existed. "Tell me something believable. Say, like, who are you? And why did your buddy here attack me?" The inventor demanded calmly, his concern settling once the temperature of the maul bottomed-out at just under the old temperature limit. Nowhere near close to the new limit he'd developed since the fiasco with Lokki and the floor. The inbuilt safety mechanisms of his suit were already warming his fingers, reversing the beginnings signs of frostbite.

"Who am I?" The voice muttered, bemused by the inventor. "Just someone whose feathers you ruffled."

Stark pulled a face behind his helm's visor. "...You'll have to be more specific. I've ruffled lots of feathers over the years. Mostly the husbands and boyfriends of ex-flings." He replied flippantly, not that he believed whoever was talking through the creature was the spouse of an ex-fling. After settling down and marrying Pepper, those sorts of confrontations had stopped - not that any had ever sent a creature after him. (One had hired a hitman once, but he'd squared that up by paying the hitman double for the name of who'd hired him. Before turning both over to the authorities. This was well before he'd become Iron Man.)

"It's not something so trivial that moves my hand." The voice scoffed, its tone lacking the bitterness and spite of a cuckolded spouse. Instead it was collected and cold, the sort of tone Stark encountered from businessmen and CEOs throughout the years. And one that meant much more boredom. "You've been reaching into a hornet's nest. Back off. You wouldn't want someone else to pay the price for your curiosity."

Stark raised an eyebrow, his biometric scan of the creature having completed during the conversation. Its readout sparking much more of his curiosity than the words coming from the armlet speaker. As such it took him a moment before he registered the hard emphasis the voice placed on the words 'someone else.'

"You…" Stark tensed, grabbing hold of the creature's arm and barking into the armlet microphone, demanding what the voice meant. Nothing but a curt laugh followed by static replied back.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Robbed That Smiles**

Chapter 08:

* * *

"That could've gone better." Stephen Strange muttered as he portalled himself and Thor from the government office, neither of them having wanted to fight against people who weren't their enemies or at least shouldn't be. The sorcerer sighed.

"We tried things your way, wizard. This country's government doesn't even care that my brother is innocent this time. They just want the Tesseract." Thor growled, furious as he stepped out from Strange's portal; it took a moment for him to notice the alarm in the sorcerer's eyes. Or the way Strange tensed, his gaze darting over their surroundings. "Wizard, what is…"

Strange raised his hand in a be quiet gesture, shushing the thunder god. His own gaze roaming over the room - the main room of the Sanctum where he entertained and evaluated guests, especially those he'd considered less than secure. A secure location, safe. It wasn't however, where he'd expected to portal into - his destination had been the Sanctum library. "This isn't right."

Irritated at being shushed, Thor started to criticize his colleague, but faltered as he watched Strange. Watched as the sorcerer armed his magic, the glint in his eyes one of a warrior expecting an assault. It immediately made Thor brace for an attack, expecting an enemy to lunge out at them.

"The Sanctuary spell's been broken." Continued Strange, observing the Sanctum cautiously even as he strode forward; his senses keen for any sign of an enemy as well as his fellow sorcerer Wong. His gut and the state of the Sanctum warning him of a dangerous threat.

"...I thought you said that was impossible." Thor glared at the sorcerer, his concern immediately switching to what this meant for his brother. It was less worry for his brother - aside from his fellow Avengers, none of the Midgardians would be able to really harm Loki - and more worry about what the mischief god might do if pushed. What his brother might construe as reasonable self-defense, the Midgardian government would likely consider cause enough to demand Loki be imprisoned. Or exiled.

"It is. At least for the soldiers who were waiting outside." Strange hurried into the hall, quickly noticing the signs of struggle. And the humanoid body lying comatose just below the window at the end of the corridor. Immediately he approached the unconscious stranger, not needing much to realize that whoever it was, was incapacitated due to the Sanctuary spell. That fact however did nothing to lessen his concern. The spell may have worked, but the stranger's location meant one thing. "...it was breached from inside. Whoever broke the Sanctuary spell, did so from inside the Sanctum."

"What are you saying, wizard?" Bristled Thor, immediately assuming his colleague was about to blame his brother. After all, nearly every Midgardian he met today had done likewise, whether justified or not. "If you think Loki…"

"Relax. I know it wasn't your brother." Strange interrupted the thunder god and continued searching the upstairs rooms. "There are security safeguards in place to inform me if he tries and succeeds at breaching any of the Sanctum's defences. It wasn't him. I've set similar safeguards for Miss Lokki, as well."

"Then who…" Thor's brow creased, but before he could say anything more, or voice a suspicion that hissed in his thoughts, Strange noticed the physical breach through the Sanctum wall. Straight through his sleeping quarters, and adjacent to the library. It took little time for the Midgardian wizard to check the breach and notice the monk, lying unconscious in the wreckage outside.

"Wong!" Strange hurried to his friend and fellow sorcerer, Thor following behind him until a noise drew the thunder god to a different direction.

Tense and worried about Loki - both his brother and his brother's female doppelganger - Thor quickened towards where he heard the noise. The sound was that of someone in pain, whimpering and breathing heavily. Somewhere in his subconscious he realized it was a stranger whimpering, but that mattered little - despite the fact that the stranger would likely be one of the Sanctum's attackers.

"Are you…." Thor coughed and covered his nose, stricken by the stench greeting him as much as by the cowering man's whimpers. His eye widened gawking at the stranger, his gut burbling at the bloody sight of the Midgardian's fingers. It tightened and his breath hitched as the god noticed the cuts on the stranger's cheeks and the severely frostbitten skin around the man's throat.

"Loki..." He subconsciously muttered, though whether he meant his brother or his brother's female counterpart, not even he was sure. At least after his initial assumption passed - shoved aside when the stranger started struggling to breathe; The frostbite damage taking its toll, along with the shock, as the numbness caused by the cold wore off. It took just a handful of seconds for the stranger to succumb to his injuries. "...what have you done?"

"Nice to see how quickly you assume I'm at fault." His brother's voice interrupted and the mischief god appeared suddenly behind Thor, the magic that had obscured him from view dispelled. Scowling down at the thunder god, who'd knelt to check on the Midgardian's injuries, he waited and stood regally over Thor, arms behind his back, the look on his face immoveable. After a moment he shrugged. "He and his buddies attacked - what do you expect I'd have done?" Loki inquired peering down at his brother, whose face reflected an inner conflict. It wasn't difficult to follow his brother's thought process - here was a dead Midgardian bearing injuries that couldn't be attributed simply to combative self-defense. But could to him. "Judging by your rather obvious displeasure at me, things didn't go well meeting with the Midgardians."

Thor sighed, his brother's observation reminding him of what agent Morfield had said about the Tesseract, as well as what Strange had quickly realized: That the Midgardians were right about the artifact's presence, but were going after the wrong god for it.

"If it'll help you could tell them this...person…" Loki gestured to the dead stranger while keeping his full contempt for the worm hidden from his face. "Endangered a pregnant guest of the Sanctum."

The thunder god's eyes widened, alarm filling him, though it was tempered by his experience with his brother's lying. "He attacked Sis?"

Loki sighed and rolled his eyes. "Selfie's fine. I'm just giving you a way to help mitigate things for me. Regardless of what the Midgardians think of me or why they refuse to see sense with this statue nonsense, accusing one of their mercenaries of endangering an unborn child will certainly work to my...our advantage."

"Sis _wasn't_ attacked then?" Asked Thor, completely unsure of his brother's verity. On one hand his brother sounded truthful but on the other his gut screamed at him otherwise. It didn't help matters when Loki simply shrugged dismissively in response and repeated his explanation. "Loki...if Sis was hurt…"

"If Miss Lokki was endangered, the suppression cuffs I placed on her would release and allow her to freely use her magic to protect herself." Strange interrupted, having finished helping Wong and questioning him about the identity of the Sanctum's attacker. The moment his friend and colleague had mentioned Mordo, he was shocked. Although he had expected to have to deal with his ex-colleague at some point, he never expected the man to aid the government's move on Loki. "More importantly," He continued after checking on the dead stranger, noting the man's injuries and ascertaining that the stranger was truly deceased. "Where is Mordo - the third attacker? And the soldiers who were waiting to ambush the Sanctum, where did they go?" Turning his attention to Loki, he asked the liar god who simply shrugged. A response that satisfied neither Thor nor Strange.

Thor grimaced sternly at his brother. "Loki…"

"I have zero idea what happened to the Midgardian soldiers. I was dealing with -" Loki gestured to the dead man lying on the floor. "This _thing_ while whatever happened between them, shield-boy, and that other wizard happened." He paused, mulling over something before asking Strange directly. "Seriously, just how many wizards does Midgard have?"

"Enough." Replied Strange, leering at Loki and expressing through non-verbal communication his unspoken threat. That there were enough sorcerers on Earth to deal with the mischief god, either to banish him or seal him away if he became a problem. Loki just shrugged and rolled his eyes, dismissing the nonverbal threat. "What happened to Mordo - the 'other wizard' as you so _eloquently_ put it?" Strange asked, sardonically emphasizing the word 'eloquently' - which prompted the silvertongue god to scowl at him.

"No clue. Now, if we're done, I'll just…" Loki paused and rolled his eyes when Thor reached for his arm, the thunder god's hand going right through the mischief god's illusion. "...Really?" He shook his head at his brother's annoyed yet still surprised look. "You're pissed off. The Sanctum is...well…" He gestured around at the Sanctum, emphasizing its current condition. "Did you honestly expect me to stick around to be blamed for shit?"

Thor gaped and then started to refute his brother's assumption, only for Loki to scoff.

"_Sure you wouldn't_." Said the mischief god sarcastically. "Remind me how long it took before your Avenger buddies convinced you I was lying about leaving the Tesseract in Asgard three years ago? A week?" Loki spat, giving his brother a look that exactly matched the attitude and irritation in his words. It soon morphed into one of curiosity as Strange and Thor both reacted at his mention of the Tesseract. He glanced from one man to the other, gauging their reactions, his brain quickly zeroing in on a possible reason. "Don't tell me that _this_ \- that the Midgardians wanting to _imprison_ me is all because of the _bloody Tesseract_." Loki growled, becoming more furious with every word. "I should've bloody fucking taken it then, if this is what I'm to deal with for the rest of my bloody..."

"Hate to interrupt the quality family time," Stark interrupted through one of his iron suits, having sent it to the Sanctum to check on things. It arrived just seconds into the mischief god's tirade, in time to catch mention of the Tesseract. "But there are more pressing concerns to deal with now other than debating whether the liar god lied or not."

"And what…" Strange started to ask, stopping when Loki dispelled the projection of himself without another word. He scowled, but also rolled his eyes, at the huffyness of mischief god's exit. Thor, though, didn't share the same sentiment and nearly rounded on the sorcerer for it.

"Wiz…"

"Now isn't the time for this." Stark cut across Thor. "Tell me Rogers is with you. Or that he's somewhere nearby." The inventor implored, before groaning when both Thor and Strange shook their heads. "Fuckin…" He muttered, before telling his fellow Avengers to come to the tower asap.

* * *

~0~

It was dark. And the space around him felt heavy, the air - it was difficult to breathe, difficult to do anything but gasp repeatedly for air that barely satisfied his body's need for oxygen. His heart raced in his chest as Rogers realized this, and it took all his willpower to not go into a full-blown panic and thus lessen the effectiveness of his breaths even further.

He floundered around in the darkness around him, reaching out for any sort of handhold or structure or rock, etc. Anything to help him get his bearings and give him some idea where he was. The only thing he could tell was that he was on some surface - he was standing after all, even if he couldn't see what it was he was standing on. Nor could he see any walls around him, but understood from the claustrophobic feeling in his gut that he was in an enclosed space. Yet when he reached out - there was nothing.

"Hello?" He called out roughly, as it was a struggle to get in enough oxygen with the air so heavy. It took him a few gasps afterwards before he managed to continue. His legs felt shaky and his heart thumped harshly. "Is anyone here?"

There was no answer and he started to step forward, his vision still overwhelmed by the heavy blackness surrounding him. Before he made it a step - barely seconds before the foot he'd lifted forward to begin his walk landed back down onto whatever surface he was standing on - someone grabbed him. By the shoulders, stopping his movement forward.

His reaction was immediate. Grabbing for the hands of whoever it was, he pulled them off him and spun around. Ready to face whoever or whatever it was that had grabbed him. (The hands he'd pulled off his shoulders felt strange, inhuman but humanoid, as well as cold and hard.) It took him a moment to realize that he could see nothing of the thing that had grabbed him. His hand was still clasped around their wrists, but he saw nothing. The darkness was that absolute.

"That way is death. You do not want to go there." The creature spoke, its voice human but with an odd tone and cadence. The sort that was produced using computers. It was then that he realized whatever had grabbed him was some sort of robot, with the inhumanness of its limbs being due to being made from metals and plastics rather than flesh.

"Then where?" He asked and then took another few gasps for air, his head starting to throb from the low oxygen.

"Please refrain from speaking. The space-pocket you are in does not contain enough oxygen rich air to sustain conversation."

"Space…" Rogers barely managed to say before the robot shushed him, repeating its warning. Feeling lightheaded and with a headache pounding full blast inside his skull, he decided to heed the machine's warning. Though he had so many questions he wanted to ask.

"Good. Now step towards me. I will guide you. Just do not let go of my arms." The robot replied and proceeded to do as it said it would; Rogers felt uneasy just going along with the stranger - the chances it was leading him into danger were high. But considering his only alternative was asphyxiating in the low oxygen environment, he took the gamble that if the robot led him to danger, he could fight it off. Unless the robot was leading him into an even worse environment.

His stomach clenched as he considered that possibility, and he nearly ripped his arms away from the robot - the machine had clamped onto his wrists on their way forward, perhaps out of some sort of AI foresight. He stopped when the first waff of oxygen-rich air hit him and he sucked in a breath immensely relieved. The light was the next thing he noticed - it wasn't bright or shining, but he could finally make out his own hands and the barest outlines of his surroundings.

Including the robots hands, which were more human-like than he expected. As he continued forward, following his guide, he noticed how realistic the robot was. Realistic skin, limb portions, muscular composition - everything was uncannily real, and when they were in full light, he could see no evidence that the creature was anything but human.

He stared at the robot or android, his curiosity piqued. Five and a half foot tall, sporting dark umber hair, skin a mix of snow and ochre, and dressed in a leather and tweed outfit, the android stopped walking and motioned forward. Rogers barely even noticed. "How…"

"Hey! Hey! Tin-can!" Someone called out, shouting until the android turned towards them.

"My name is not 'Tin-can.' It is Fen. Address me as such or not at all."

"Whatever." The person muttered before barraging the android with questions in regard to the man's colleagues: questions along the lines of how long they would be unconscious and if the first aid applied to them was sufficient. Rogers just listened quietly behind the android, unnoticed by the man, until it clicked in his head who the other human was.

"Wait." Rogers interrupted the other's barrage of questions, stepping into the other's view. " You're one of the soldiers that attacked the Sanctum."

"W...You?! How…the flipping hell are you here?!" The soldier exclaimed and tensed, instinctively shifting into a defensive position while glancing for his firearm. The item in question lay on a bench table about thirty feet away, too far to be of use even if Rogers was a normal human.

"Relax. I'm not here to fight." Rogers held up his hands in a gesture that matched his words, emphasising his lack of hostility. "I'm as clueless as you. I don't even know where or what this place is."

"This is the Arboretum." Replied the android, Fen, while pointing to the trees, shrubs, and ferns. Many of which, on closer inspection weren't actually there. Enough were real to account for the oxygen rich environment, but most others were illusionary. The 'sun' too was fake, nothing but a light source suspended high above them. "The ship is yet to be named."

"...Ship?" Rogers asked, despite already having a guess to what the android meant, and when Fen unshuttered a window showing the dark, star-spattered expanse surrounding them outside, the Avenger simply stared out. "Space. We're in space." He muttered while Fen left, the android heading towards where the injured soldiers were. The uninjured soldier followed closely behind, barely bothering with the Avenger.

Rogers approached closer to the window, staring out at the stars in awe, his eyes scanning for any familiar constellations or such. Any hint suggesting that they were in space around Earth and not in a vastly foreign part of space as he feared in his gut. The more his gaze searched the expanse, the more he realized he recognized none of the stars or the constellations they made up.

He tensed, his thoughts on Mordo and what the sorcerer was doing - although the man had been truthful when saying the soldiers he'd portalled away weren't dead, that didn't mean he wasn't a threat. Mordo had known about the female Lokki after all, despite the Avengers keeping a lid on that fact about the woman. Keeping it secret from the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D, and only revealing it to a few of their own number. Mainly only those Avengers who'd been in New York the day Lokki appeared.

No one else should've known her identity.

(Even if S.H.I.E.L.D or any other government agencies knew of the goddess' presence, Stark had crafted an explanation for Lokki's sudden appearance, along with a false identity. It should've taken a while - at least a few weeks longer for anyone to see through it. Even longer, considering how focused the government seemed to be on Loki.)

Rogers grimaced, giving up searching for familiar constellations and instead reaching for the communicator Stark had made for and given to each of the team. It was only as he pressed the transmit button and got only static that he remembered it had gotten damaged recently. During a mission. Just that morning he'd been planning on giving it back to Stark to repair, only to be distracted helping Thor.

"I'm not sure if any of you will get this." Rogers spoke into the communicator anyways, not confident on it reaching his fellow Avengers, but figuring it was worth the try. "I'm on some ship, in some part of space that I have no idea where. Some wizard who attacked the Sanctum portalled me here. Along with some US soldiers." He paused and walked towards a more secluded spot, something about his environment making him feel uneasy. "The wizard is after Lokki - the female one. He knows about her. Considering her pregnant condition, she should be guarded."

He concluded his message, the uneasy feeling grown stronger. To combat it, he walked around the Arboretum and then through a doorway behind one of the few real trees. At first he thought it headed to a corridor, but it was simply a walk-in closet or storage. Albeit one with a computer and small desk tucked in the far corner. There was another door beside the desk, locked. That wasn't what caught his eye - or rather his ear.

It was the computer. Its monitor was pitch for some reason, but the speakers were on and their audio clear, if a bit low. Straining to hear the audio, Rogers leaned in and held his breath. The voice unmistakably that of Stark.

_-"...if the worst happens. If none of us make it. If he kills all of us, then…" There was a pause, Stark's voice lowering a bit. "Lokki, you need to..."-_

"What are you doing here?" Fen interrupted, the android's voice drowning out that of Stark's. "This area is off limits to all but Lokki. She will be furious if she sees you here on her return." The android ushered Rogers out of the tiny room, its voice too loud for the Avenger to make out anything else on the recording. And its strength beyond what the man expected. "If the Arboretum is not to your liking, perhaps the Library or the Lounge will be?"

"I…" Rogers stopped resisting; Stark's voice and words echoing in his ears, along with the android's. He may not have caught all of the recording, but he understood much more than just a minute ago. Just from listening to the pronoun the android used. "This is her universe. Miss Lokki's."

"This ship belongs to Lokki, yes." Fen replied and tilted its head, not understanding Rogers' emphasis on the universe being Lokki's. "The universe belongs to no one."

"That's not what…" Rogers tried to explain, but the android just hurried off after pointing briefly towards a set of doors that the man assumed led to the aforementioned library and lounge. He sighed and glanced towards the makeshift medic area where the android was once again dealing with the soldiers. Partly tempted to see if he could help, he considered going over, but decided not after overhearing the android tell the uninjured soldier that his fellows just needed to rest. That there was nothing else to do.

"This is just great." Rogers muttered with a tinge of sarcasm, wondering if he should walk around the Arboretum - perhaps try to reenter the room with the computer again - or instead explore other parts of the ship. Despite the android's more-than expected strength and such, he knew he could make it back to the room quick enough to glean much more from the recording. Perhaps hear the whole thing and maybe figure out more about the frost giantess, like what exactly happened to her universe or how she got to theirs. It'd be useful and he could reach it before the android could stop him. But…

'_Fen is helping the soldiers, if I distract him and something goes wrong with one of them…'_ The Avenger sighed, quickly deciding to wait until the unconscious soldiers were better before risking distracting the android. _'Maybe I'll find something elsewhere on the ship that'll be useful? Perhaps something that'll help get us back home.'_ He thought while pushing the button on one of the doors, judging it to be the library due to the book design etched onto it.

"Grrrr." A sharp growl the second the door opened caused Rogers to bristle and freeze, even more so when the growling became a roar. Not a long or loud roar, but a menacing one. His eyes quickly searched for the origin - and nearly jumped out of their sockets when they found it.

A bristling bear, with grizzled fur and coal eyes, glared at him from three bookshelves away. It growled at him, watching him and waiting.

"Oh boy." Rogers muttered, smiling nervously at the creature. His brain gone blank from the combination of shock and confusion seeing the bear. The last thing he'd expected was encountering a bear in a library on a ship in the middle of space. "Lokki certainly has interesting taste in pets."

"Grahhh!" The bear roared viciously at the word pet and stood on its hindlegs, making itself much more menacing.

"Sorry! Not a pet." Said Rogers on reflex, not realizing until the bear settled down and he sighed in relief that the creature understood him. "Wait...you understand what I'm saying?" He asked, to which the bear replied with a softer growl that seemed to be saying 'yes.' To clinch it the creature moved its head clumsily in a nodding gesture. Afterwards it started walking away down one of the aisles, not giving Rogers any more mind. "What in the…." He shook his head and mumbled before deciding to leave the library and try the lounge, not keen on reading with a bear sauntering through the aisles like some sort of beastly librarian.

He was just about to exit, his hand centimeters from pressing the button controlling the door, when a shockwave rippled through the ship.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Robbed That Smiles**

Chapter 09:

* * *

Everything shook and warning alarms blared loudly through every section of the ship as the shockwave rumbled through. Rogers jumped, adrenaline racing through him - his experience as a soldier and an Avenger kicking in. Danger. The ship was in danger and so was anyone on it. He hurried back into the Arboretum.

"What the hell's going on?!"

He heard the uninjured soldier yelling at Fen, who was at what looked like a wall-mounted computer or control panel inputting a command.

"I'm talking to you, Tin-can!" The soldier grabbed the android roughly, sputtering and shouting obscenities at it while the alarms blared through the room. "Answer, you fucking…"

Rogers drew a sharp breath and hurried forward, subconsciously realizing what was about to happen when his fellow human tried ripping Fen's hand from the input pad. He managed to pull the soldier out of the android's defensive swing, the strength behind the blow enough to send them flying back a bit just from the whirlwind it caused.

"Stay there." Fen snapped, its robotic eyes glowing orange. "The ship is under attack and the security protocols must be activated. Otherwise the enemy could find the rift, endangering whatever spacetime is on the other side."

"I don't c…." The soldier started to snap back at the android, whatever modicum of discipline he still possessed tossed aside. Rogers stopped him from attacking Fen though, his thoughts clear enough to figure out what the android meant.

"Stop. Fen's trying to prevent whatever threat this is from entering our universe." Rogers barked at the soldier, repeating himself twice before the other man understood. Once the soldier did, he rounded on the Avenger.

"Universe?! What do you mean our…"

"This isn't our universe. It's a parallel one that…" Rogers faltered, not sure if or how he should explain things to the other man. "Look I'll explain later, right now we need to help defend this ship and the rift Fen's mentioned. Those we care about back on Earth could be in danger otherwise." He held his breath and tensed, waiting for his words to sink into the other soldier's head. Relief flooded through him when the other man reacted the way he hoped, no longer trying to attack the android but rather preparing to defend the ship alongside Rogers.

It was then that both men noticed the void-black spaceship through the window. Massive even at a distance and of a hue such that the only reason Rogers and the other soldier noticed it was because it blocked out view of the stars that were visible before. It was like a giant shadow had come to life and maliciously decided to blot out the view.

"All set. That should…" Said Fen, as the android finished inputting the security protocol command. It faltered mid-sentence and stared perplexed at the screen. Its perplexity confused Rogers as he'd felt something hum to life once the input was completed - whatever the protocol was, it had certainly kicked on.

"Is something wrong?" The soldier beside Rogers asked, just seconds before the Avenger. His attention split between the android and the ship that was cruising closer and closer. "Whatever that was doesn't seem to have worked."

"It did. The phase-cloak is running at a hundred percent." The android countered, still puzzling over what the computer screen was depicting - it was all written in computer code using an alien font, so neither human could decipher it. "The enemy will not be able to board or harm the ship."

"But? There's something you're not saying…Something that explains why the ship is still heading towards us…"

"Not towards us. Towards…" Fen whipped around to face Rogers and the soldier, its orange eyes roaming over each man, searching for something. "Did either of you happen to bring aboard any signal transmitting devices? Trackers? Communication device?"

"No." The soldier shook his head while Rogers pulled out his com device, grimacing. His gut and the way the android stared at him telling him that whatever was wrong, was connected to the com.

"It's broken. So I don't think…"

Fen stared at the device, eyes glowing an orange-ochre. "Have you used it since you got onboard?"

"I tried. But like I said, it's broken."

"No." Fen shook its head, disagreeing and its orange eyes were no longer glowing. "The receiver is impaired, but the transmitter is fine." The android's words caused Rogers' stomach to tighten, the Avenger understanding what Fen was driving at.

"...I led that ship here." Rogers muttered, taking a deep breath to settle his wringing gut. Beside him his fellow US soldier shrugged.

"So what? We're safe, right? The phase-whatnot you mentioned - that's still working, right?"

Fen faced the soldier, hesitating a moment before replying. "Yes. We are safe. The rift, however, is not. Not when the enemy now knows where to search."

"This enemy…" Rogers interjected before the other man could react. Between the gnawing dread in his stomach and his instinct as a soldier and Avenger, he knew. Knew what the enemy approaching them and the rift was. "It's the one who decimated this universe. The one who used the Infinity Stones." He stared into the android's eyes. "Isn't it?"

"..." Fen didn't respond for a few moments, its eyes staring back at the Avenger's. It appeared to be thinking deeply, to be deliberating over its words. Deciding what to reveal and what to not. "Yes." It replied, pausing for another few moments before elaborating. "Thanos was behind that."

"...and now this 'Thanos' is heading towards the rift leading into our universe." Rogers took a deep breath, settling his stomach and the new questions forming in his brain. Questions begat by the answers he'd received, but which were unimportant for the moment. "Alright. Can we stop him? Prevent him going through the rift?"

"No." Fen replied, calculating their chances in its android brain. "If you fight, you may delay him. Stopping him completely, however…is unlikely. Almost implausible." There was another pause and Rogers started to speak, to say they had to try and that there had to be some way to win, but Fen spoke over him. "It may be possible to delay him long enough to give Lokki time to execute her plan."

"Ah...Alright." Rogers replied; although tempted to ask more questions, especially as the android offered up much more information freely in the past handful of minutes than Lokki had in over a week, he refrained. The approaching ship was right outside theirs, just about ready to pass by. "Let's…"

"Her plan?" The soldier interrupted, his voice sharp and eyes reflecting distrust, confusion, and bewilderment. "Isn't Thor's brother, well, male? And...anyway, why…"

"It's complicated." Rogers replied to his fellow human, missing Fen's own perplexed stare at the soldier's question. The android for its part refrained from voicing its confusion, and instead turned back to the computer input pad. "...Let's do this."

"Then I will reverse the phase-cloak." Said Fen, going into the plan he'd formed. "And then activate the teleport to send you aboard the enemy's ship. Once on it, you can either fight the titan headon or sneakily sabotage the ship's engines. I highly recommend the latter." The android said this while already pressing keys on the input pad, not bothering to wait for Rogers or the other soldier to agree. It did stop before the final keystroke and turned to the two humans, speaking its next words as though it only just occurred to it. "By you I only mean one of you. I have to restore the phase-cloak quickly, so I will only be able to send one of you onto the other ship. To do otherwise will risk the safety of this ship and your fellow humans who are still recovering."

Rogers gaped for a second, having assumed the android meant to send both him and the other soldier. He recovered quickly though and shrugged, all discussion of which of them to send unnecessary. "Send me. I certainly will stand the best chance of…"

Before the Avenger got to the end of his sentence, Fen dropped the phase-cloak and then dived into activating the teleport. The android wasted no time, and soon sent the teleportee on his way.

* * *

~0~

"No. Absolutely not."

Munching on a platter of cut vegetables and fruit, Lokki listened to the argument Reyda was waging on her behalf. The Asgardian healer, though meek appearing and generally unthreatening, verbally raged against the Avengers after a few brought up the idea to interrogate the mischief goddess. Again. And not the benign sort of questioning Strange had subjected her to after discovering her pregnant condition.

"I absolutely forbid any sort of interrogation!" Reyda glared at Stark, standing between him and his way to Lokki. "It doesn't matter how 'safe' or careful you claim it'll be, you are not going to interrogate my patient!"

"I...it's not going to…" Stark grimaced, before glancing briefly over at Thor, tempted to insist the thunder god use his authority as leader of New Asgard to demand Reyda back down. That idea was shot down quickly when Thor shook his head.

"I agree with Lady Reyda." Thor leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. "You may question Lokki, but no using anything to compel her to answer. No technology or magic." He glanced from the inventor to Strange, the latter having started the talk of interrogation when he mentioned finding a few truth spells that would be relatively harmless to the frost giantess.

"Sure. Let's simply question the goddess of lies, without doing anything to insure she's telling the truth." Countered Stark, rolling his eyes; frustration filling his thoughts and feeding a quiet anger brewing in him. "Like that's going to work. Do I have to remind you that Rogers was teleported to who knows where and is currently MIA? Not to mention that no one's been able to get in touch with Banner or Wanda, which doesn't bode well after the message my attacker left."

"I know that. Do you think I don't want to find them?" Thor seethed, his temper beginning to flare up. "But how would interrogating sister Lokki help? She's not even from our universe!"

"Exactly." Stark countered. "So why did that mercenary attack her earlier? According to Lady Reyda, that man your brother killed went straight for Miss Lokki. Peculiar, as from what myself and Natasha have uncovered, that man was a hitman. And not a cheap one. Whatever his reason to join in Mordo's assault on the Sanctum, it wasn't his only objective."

"Sis was targeted?" Thor blinked, thinking for a moment before frowning. "That makes no sense. She's only been in our universe ten days now. No one…Who would have any reason to harm…"

"Someone from her universe with a vendetta, perhaps? Considering who she is, it's not difficult to imagine her riling someone up enough to follow her here or hire a hitman for revenge." Stark glanced over at Lokki, who calmly nibbled away at her fruit and veggie tray; The goddess unfazed by the conversation.

"Or perhaps someone who wants the Tesseract and knows Miss Lokki has it?" Interjected Strange, having been watching the frost giantess sit and eat while they argued. He hardly missed any of her amused reactions or intrigued glances, the mischief goddess seemingly content observing the Avengers.

"That's only your assumption." Thor countered. "Just because Morfield said the Tesseract was caught on radar, doesn't mean Loki - either of them - has it."

"Who else would then?" Stark queried, keeping his voice level despite the anger burbling through him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew his anger was overblown, unnatural - and he tried to curb it, same as he tried ignoring the phantom burning of his palm.

Before any of his fellow Avengers had returned to the tower, he'd managed to drop the cursed maul - using another of his Iron suits to 'disarm' him - and had secured it in his lab. The moment he did so the iron suit had frozen over, and a dull throbbing had flared up in the hand he'd been holding the weapon with. The anger had started later, shortly before Natasha had arrived.

"If it was secured on Asgard - who else would've had the opportunity and motive to take it?"

Thor's scowl grew harsher. "My brother doesn't have it. Nor would anyone else from Asgard have taken it."

"Ahem." The mischief goddess suddenly cleared her throat, drawing their attention. Leaning back in her chair, she waited as Stark and Natasha both gave her suspicious scowls, and Thor turned to her with a furrowed brow. Each of them expectant considering the timing of her interruption. Having just watched the mischief goddess finish the last morsels of fruit, Strange was the only one not surprised when Lokki, in quite the non-sequitur, simply motioned to her empty plate. "Would one of you _fine_ specimens get me some more food? I'm still a bit hungry. And I'd _hate_ to miss even a moment of this _fantastic_ quibble."

"Y…" Stark scowled at the goddess, his face twitching from irritation and the phantom burning in the fleshy part of his palm flaring up. Lokki merely returned the stare, her sea-green gaze roaming over the Avenger before it shifted abruptly to Thor; the thunder god turning around.

"Lokki…." Thor shook his head, glowering at the goddess and speaking in a chatising way. "This isn't the time...can't you take things seriously for once?"

"_Seriously_?" The goddess blinked, her attention locked on Thor. Lokki's amused demeanor turned sour. "You think _I'm_ not serious? Here you lot are, quibbling over whether to interrogate me or not, and with what method - since you're _concerned_ about my pregnancy. Yet I request more food, as I'm literally eating for two and really could use it, and you think I'm...what? Joking?"

The thunder god blanched. "That isn't what I meant, sister. I…."

"Don't call me sister." Lokki snapped, her mouth pulled into a frown and her sea-green eyes shifted from subdued to livid. "You and your Loki are siblings. Not you and I. We…" Her glower darkened, a conflict waging wordlessly behind her eyes. She shook her head before turning towards the other Avengers, her glare locking on Stark.

The goddess leered down at the playboy inventor's hand, the one scorching him with its phantom burning. One look at her face, at the intense focus in her eyes, and there was no denying she knew. Or at least suspected something was up. Stark tensed and attempted to hide his hand, some subconscious thought telling him to do so.

"Miss Lokki, perhaps…"

The mischief goddess shrugged and sighed, both actions scoffingly done. Though there was an emotional glimmer in her eyes, nearly identical to that from her initial interrogation the day she arrived. Nostalgia mixed with concern. It shifted into indifference the next second.

"Milady, perhaps it'd be best to retire to your room?" Reyda suggested, after flashing a scathing look at the Avengers. Especially at Strange, who had done little, in the Asgardian lady's opinion, to defend against interrogating Lokki. "I'll make sure you get more to eat, and…"

"I'm _with_ child. I'm not _a_ child." Lokki rolled her eyes, refusing to budge from her chair.

"But, milady…"

"I'm fine." She pulled away when Reyda reached for her arm, the healer attempting to lead the frost giantess to her rooms. "And I can get my own food. I've gotten through fine for weeks without any of you." Lokki snapped and left her seat, heading towards the door.

Her countenance grew more livid when she was stopped by both a portal and a forcefield blocking her path. Both Stark and Strange having automatically reacted to her attempting to storm off. Behind her, Natasha and Thor had both hurried forwards, attempting to grab her. And the thunder god, though faster than the human woman, had somehow managed to trip over the chair Lokki had vacated.

The sheer overkill of it was amusing and Lokki stared at the barrier wordlessly for a moment, while behind her Thor grumbled as he pulled himself up. She was still livid and determined to leave, but she refrained. The bracers around her arms suppressing her magic prevented her from circumventing the Avengers, while the life growing inside her prevented her from fighting even if her magic wasn't suppressed.

Lokki stared down at the bracers, her arms crossed protectively over her stomach. Her thoughts shifted back to the attack on the Sanctum, on the Midgardian mercenary who'd tried harming her unborn child directly. The rage she'd felt as she'd squeezed the Midgardian's throat was vivid in her memory, as was the satisfaction of learning that he'd died. More than either were the moments leading up to it. The second the man swung at her - the second right before his fist scrapped across her abdomen, the result of her instinctively dodging, fear had filled her.

Absolute terror and horror at the thought of being helpless, unable to protect herself or her child.

She swallowed. _'It's fine...fine. He didn't send the mercenary...he couldn't have known my magic would be bound. Besides, he wouldn't…' _The goddess scoffed and shook her head at her own thought. _'Who the fuck am I kidding? After what he did to...and what he threatened…'_

"Miss Lokki?"

The frost giantess glanced up, unsurprised at Strange talking and placing his hand on her shoulder - she'd heard him approached. She'd also heard him tell off Stark, telling the inventor to forget about interrogating the goddess. That he would free her from the bracers rather than allow the other Avenger risk her pregnancy. Strange had further snapped that he knew Stark was hiding something from them, that there were some traces of mystical, magic energy all over the inventor. Especially the man's left arm.

"Miss…."

"What?" Lokki turned to the wizard, her piercing eyes subdued though her voice was not.

"Here." Strange held out a bag filled with dried fruit and nuts, a deluxe mixture that contained no added sugars or salt or flavorings. "Reyda informed me earlier of the particular diet you need for your pregnancy as a Jotunn. What you can and shouldn't have. With particular emphasis on what Earth foods are terrible for you and what are okay." The frost giantess glanced at the offered food and then back at him, suspicion in her eyes. He cocked an eyebrow. "I didn't spike it with truth potion or magic. I wouldn't risk or allow anything to risk the life growing inside you."

Her head tilted to the side, Lokki glanced again at the bag, still wary, but took it anyway, her voracious appetite demanding it. After she took it, she started to walk away, the path to the doorway no longer obstructed by either the forcefield or portal. Strange, however, grabbed her arm and held her back.

"I just said I'd won't allow _anything_ to risk your pregnancy. That includes you rashly abandoning the security of the tower." The wizard drawled, meeting the Jotunn's smoldering look with a calm one of his own. "Agent Morfield and his superiors are after the Tesseract, of which I'm certain you have possession. Just as I'm sure it won't take them long to realize that you showed up in New York the same day as the Tesseract and connect the dots. Not to mention whoever hired the mercenary is likely to try again."

"Oh? Is this some scare tactic to get me to stay and not make a fuss?" Lokki gave a sardonic laugh and rolled her eyes, though she made no attempt to leave. Not even when Strange let her arm go. When no one made a move or attempted to say anything for a minute or so, the frost giantess sighed. "Fine. I'll stay." She muttered. "Norns know I could use the break." The goddess headed back to her chair, but paused midway through her third step. She glanced over at Stark, who had stalked off towards the computers after Strange shot down his plan to interrogate the frost giantess. Natasha had also backed off.

Lokki watched both of them, the defiance in her sea-colored irises shifting to nostalgia. After a moment of deliberating, she opened her mouth to speak and offer what information she could, not that it'd have helped much. Despite the Avengers' assumptions, she didn't recognize the name Morfield. Nor had she any idea who would send the mercenary for her - the only one who would, would not have made the mistake of sending an ordinary mortal.

As for the Tesseract...

"Um." Thor stopped Lokki, grabbing her arm and attention.

The goddess turned to him and scowled, annoyed, until she saw his face. The undercurrent of regret and perplexity in his expression halted whatever snarky comment Lokki had been about to snap at him.

"...Do you really not want me to call you 'sister'?" He asked, gazing into Lokki's face. His confusion grew when the goddess stepped back and slipped her arm out of his grip, neither action done with malice nor with the snarky attitude he'd expect from his brother, or in this case his brother's doppelganger. Instead the goddess just seemed uncomfortable.

Lokki grimaced, pulling her lips into an awkward smile. "I'd prefer if you didn't. It's weird hearing you refer to me that way since the Allfather unadopted m…" The goddess fell silent, shutting her mouth abruptly; her seagreen eyes growing wide. After a moment she shifted her gaze from Thor towards Strange, a rising sense of indignation filling her. Her anger shifted to confusion the next second, even more so when Strange continued conversing with Reyda and Stark, paying her little heed.

"'Unadopted'?" Thor grabbed Lokki's arm and held it firmly until her attention shifted back to him. Once it did he peered into the goddess' face, searching it with intrigue-filled eyes. "Father, did what? Cast you out?"

Lokki didn't immediately answer or react to the question, and simply stared at the other god.

Silence passed between them for a few seconds, before the mischief goddess muttered something and glanced back towards the chair Thor had tripped over. It was back to standing upright, not a peculiar state in itself, considering it could easily have been righted while she'd been distracted. But the albino-pale spider glaring at them from atop it waving its legs angrily, before its tiny self raced at them, was peculiar. "Silver-hair basilisk? Really? Didn't you already chide me for using that?"

"I don't know what you…" The other god frowned while shaking his head, his denial faltering when Lokki gave a malicious smirk. Seconds later the goddess raised her foot as though preparing to step on the tiny spider charging forward. The tiny thing oblivious to the danger. "Wait..wait!" He exclaimed, before dispelling the illusion just prior to the goddess' foot dropping.

Within seconds the spider racing forward in anger was transformed back into the thunder god, while the 'Thor' holding Lokki's arm shifted into Loki.

"What the...?"

"Huh?"

"Wh...how?"

Came the reactions of the other Avengers and Reyda, each of them having witnessed what had happened in varying amounts. Having seen most of what happened, Natasha frowned and crossed her arms, her glare locked on the goddess.

"_Brother_." Thor glared at the mischief god as he climbed to his feet, oblivious to what the goddess had been close to doing. "Why the hell…"

The mischief god grimaced and quickly backed up, holding his hands in front of him in a defensive manner. One that reflected his spoken response. "Wait...hold on. I…" Loki threw a look at his female counterpart, one that became scathing when he saw her shrug and quietly back away. The smug grin on her face was enough to rile the mischief god. Without hesitance and wearing a malicious smile of his own, he calmly said. "I was attempting to get answers from Selfie about how that wizard, Mordo, knew her. And why he attacked the Sanctum just to deliver a message for her."

As Loki spoke, his female double tensed and whipped back around; her smug demeanor completely vanished. Instead there was alarm and wariness, her sea-green irises gaining a wild, fearful glint.

"W…"

"Is that true, Miss Lokki?" Strange interrupted, brushing aside whatever Thor had been about to say, assuming it would be a gruff retort to his brother. The wizard scowled, his expression intent and livid. "Was Mordo's attack just window-dressing to hide delivering a message to you?" He approached the goddess, while magically assessing the suppression bracers around her forearms. Behind him, Stark and Natasha leaned forward and listened.

"You talked with him?" Lokki asked Loki, oblivious to everything else around them, the wildness within her eyes growing. "What did he say?" The mischief god simply cocked an eyebrow and remained silent, relishing his doppelganger's reaction. Moreso when Lokki repeated her question more forcefully. "What did he say?!"

"Milady, perhaps you should…." Reyda hurried forward and grabbed the frost giantess' arm, trying to lead her away somewhere she could calm down. If not to her room, then somewhere quiet.

"_What. Did. He. Say_?!" The goddess growled, enunciating her words crisply and with a vehement undertone; The wildness in her eyes full and vivid. Around her, Stark, Natasha, and Thor all flinched, the sheer fury in the mischief goddess' reaction reminding them of Loki during his assault on Earth.

Loki himself hardly reacted, not surprised by the intensity of his doppelganger's reaction. Over the past ten days, he had been around the frost giantess often enough to glean hints of her underlying fury. Even before noticing them, he had assumed Lokki was hiding her anger - the same simmering anger he'd hid for years along with his envy. The goddess was him from another universe, so he assumed she bore similar, if not the same, envy and anger.

Thus the vehemence in her reaction now didn't rattle him. What _did_ was the fear commingling with her fury, merging into something akin to madness within her. A madness laid bare through the wildness in her eyes. It chilled him.

"What's so important about the wizard's message?" The mischief god asked, masking his own wariness at his doppelganger behind his illusion magic. Lokki ignored the question and simply moved to lunge at the god, only to be stopped by Strange and Reyda who held her back.

"Calm d…"

"I need to know what he said!" Lokki screeched, her fingernails digging into Strange's arm as she attempted to pry off his grip from her shoulder. She did nothing about Reyda who was gripping her other shoulder. Not until she felt the warmth of the healer's seidr, her anger lessening as the calming magic spread through her. Lokki blinked and turned towards Reyda, muttering after a moment. "Of course. You can cast that. Just like back when I…" The mischief goddess swallowed back the rest of her sentence, not that anyone beyond Strange or Reyda would've heard it, her voice having lowered an octave or so in volume.

"Milady, you really should rest now. Getting this worked up is…" Reyda glanced over her patient, paying close attention to her abdomen and any sign of the Jotunn's protective frost. There was none, which alarmed the healer more than when she first noticed Lokki's hyperactive frost. "You should rest."

"I…" Lokki stared at the Asgardian, her wild anger severely lessened. Replaced by reason.

"Hey," Stark interjected when Reyda started to lead the frost giantess away. "If you have only been in our universe little over a week, how would this wizard Mordo have a message for you? " He asked Lokki, who frowned but otherwise didn't answer.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Robbed That Smiles**

Chapter 10:

* * *

"Well?" Stark prodded, reraising the forcefield to prevent the female Jotunn from leaving. An action that earned him a furious stare from Reyda, the Asgardian healer pivoting on her heel. The calming spell she'd cast over Lokki faded as she did so, broken by her own anger.

"Stop hassling my patient!" Reyda demanded, before seeking assistance from Thor to get the man to back off. "Lady Lokki needs rest, not an interrogation, sire." The healer beseeched, though she hardly needed to as the others agreed with her, backing up her assertion to varying degrees. "Whether you trust my lady or not, she is with child. And certainly you can…"

"How do we even know she's actually pregnant?" Stark blurted, slightly wincing as the burning sensation in his palm worsened. Flaring up in tandem with him airing a suspicion he had since learning of the mischief goddess' condition. "You mentioned yourself that you couldn't actually do any tests confirming Miss Nippy's pregnancy. And as the goddess of lies, faking it would be simple."

"You question my expertise?" Reyda stood up straight and glared daggers at the Avenger, affronted. "Or you think that I didn't prepare for…"

"Why, pray tell, do you think I'm here then?" Lokki interrupted the healer's spiel about not being the naive being the Avenger assumed, that Reyda had gone into her meeting with Lokki prepared to see through any trick the female Jotunn may use. Back still turned to Stark and everyone else Lokki repeated her question. Her voice was even and much quieter, albeit laced with an underlying venom. "What reason would I have to stick around here where I'm magically shackled and viewed with suspicion by each of you?"

"No idea." Stark replied curtly, the quickness of his answer and its tone earning him surprised and irritated looks. "But if you're trying to convince me that it's because you're pregnant and not for some devious scheme..."

Lokki scowled, facing away from Stark and the other Avengers, her posture exuding a royal contemptuous air. For a moment, she started to answer but stopped and bit down on the edge of her tongue, nicking it. After a moment, during which the other Avengers argued with Stark, even Natasha, who shared the billionaire's suspicions aside from his doubt of Lokki's pregnancy, Lokki turned around.

Eyeing the group with a chilly gaze, her lips pressed into a firm frown, the mischief goddess considered her words. Mulling over her options while attempting to keep as calm as possible. A difficult endeavor, but one she was determined to achieve. Less than two weeks may have passed since her arrival in this universe, but the past nine-ish days had been the most relaxing for her in months. And certainly the safest.

"Selfie?" Loki approached the goddess, his gaze focused on his doppelganger. Himself the only one of the group who wasn't distracted by arguing with Stark. A deep crease formed on his forehead as he noted Lokki's demeanor - unable to hide behind an illusion, the goddess' face was fairly readable by the mischief god. Even as Lokki tried to smother any glimmer of emotion in her eyes or lips, the mischief god noticed the signs of her inner conflict. He reached out for her.

Noticing the movement, Lokki sidestepped away from the mischief god's reach, and threw him a cold, scathing look. It and the fact the suppression bracers once more bore signs of Lokki's frost flaring up, halted Loki mid-approach. Hesitance that he overcame within seconds as his doppelganger's eyes glazed over and she collapsed without warning.

* * *

0

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

Standing wordlessly at his desk, Morfield listened to the message his department head had left. A furious tirade that lasted a good few minutes before ending abruptly with a demand that the agent return his call. Somewhere in the angry spiel were hints that the department head was on her way back from a long-sought vacation as well along with a demand that the agent better have an excellent explanation.

Any less than that would result in disciplinary action against Morfield, something the other reminded him wouldn't bode well considering the agent's past.

"As if I need a fucking reminder." Muttered Morfield as he tossed his phone onto the desk, and sunk into his chair. Across the small room a few of his coworkers glanced furtively over, talking amongst themselves. Their voices loud enough to make out that he was the topic. Him, his past, and his current fuck up.

Contrary to the impression he gave Thor and Dr. Strange, the only action S.H.I.E.L.D had decided on, and which his department had to acquiesce to, was surveilling Loki. No order for capture had been issued, and the attack on the Sanctum was certainly not approved. None of those in charge were ballsy enough to risk conflict against Thor and any Avenger who would side with him. Especially not when the only evidence for the Tesseract's presence on earth was a single blip in the radar nine days ago.

It didn't help that Strange and Thor's denial that the mischief god had the artifact was taken at face value by Morfield's department head. (Morfield had been banking on just the thunder god denying it, as then it'd have been easy to argue the god was biased since Loki was his brother. Strange backing up Thor threw a wrench in that argument. The wizard was considered by Morfield's department and SHIELD to be the least biased of the Avengers regarding the mischief god.)

His colleagues still peeking at him and talking incessantly, Morfield slouched over his desk, and his head held in his hands. Rubbing his forehead in an attempt to assuage the headache spreading sharp pings of pain through him, he sat there listening to the rabble of his colleagues. A moment or so past just listening before he stood up and collected his phone and a few other things. Without a word he headed towards the door, ignoring his fellow agents curious glances.

"Oh! Morfield." An agent muttered, having entered just as he was about to leave. "I was just coming to get you. SSA Argyle is adamant that you see her, and…"

"I know. I got her voicemail." Morfield grumbled and started pushing past the other agent, muttering something along the lines of being on his way. Despite having zero inclination to comply with his boss' demand.

"Oh. Then you can meet her at the Rainsford lab then. She mentioned she was going to meet with Dr. Pendrick first rather than heading straight here." Blurted the other agent, to which Morfield grimaced and turned slightly pale. Seconds later he continued on his way, ignoring all the chatter and milling about among the agents from other departments.

'_Why would Argyle go to Pendrick?_' Morfield asked silently on his way out, and was unable to come up with an answer before he reached his vehicle. In consequence he started his engine while mentally grumbling, and drove from his parking spot semi-oblivious. '_Erik better have a reason why he and his wizard buddy didn't stick to the plan. It'd be so much simpler if they'd lured the bast...'_

"Oi! What the hell?!" The agent swore, his eyes grown full and wide when a portal opened up in his backseat. The pale-gray orbs only grew wider when Mordo entered through it, and sat back calmly in the seat. "H...What are you doing here?! I…"

"Shush." Mordo cut off the agent, their gazes meeting briefly in the rearview mirror. The wizard then muttered something not in English and waved his hand, his fingertips sparking with magic. It quickly tapered off and he lowered his hand. "That'll take care of any eavesdropping." He muttered before addressing Morfield. "If you're heading to the laboratory - I suggest an indirect route. Or to just head home. You have at least two people tailing you."

"T...that's because you fucked up! Why didn't you stick to the plan?!" The agent hollered, barely keeping his eyes set forward on the road. Mordo frowned at that, but instead of pressing the other man to watch the road, he did and prepared his magic just in case.

"I did. Until I couldn't." The wizard replied enigmatically, receiving a deeper glower from the agent. "...which of you had the epiphany to have a hitman sent with me and one of the lab's Chimera? He's the one that went off plan. I had to improvise."

Morfield squeezed the steering wheel until his knuckles paled. Through clenched teeth he spat. "Improvise?! You weren't supposed to improvise unless you needed to flee! You certainly weren't supposed to wreck the place! Or do whatever you did to the soldiers outside! You were supposed to go in and lure the god out, and portal him to the lab. What's so difficult…"

Mordo bristled and used his magic to sharply brake the vehicle, causing the agent whiplash. Though he did magically shield the driver's head from impacting the steering wheel. The agent swore loudly, and started sputtering angrily at the wizard. He stopped when a heavy object pounded onto the hood of his car, the sound causing him to jump and spin his head around to see the cause.

Mechanized arm buried into the sleek hood, Bucky Barnes glared through the windshield at the two men inside. Every crease and line of his face was etched with anger, chilling Morfield whose brain took a moment or so to place the other man. Once his brain fog cleared he gulped, all feeling leaving his limbs, his fear chilling him so badly.

"Which one of you motherfuckers has Steve?" Bucky growled and lifted his arm from the hood, his sharp leer locking first on Morfield then on Mordo.

* * *

0

"What the…." Roger's eyes widened, his mouth agape in horror and shock.

Having expected to be the one teleported, he stood stock still as the other soldier vanished instead. The other soldier, whose name he'd never asked, was most certainly underpowered against the enemy Fen called Thanos. An enemy that had, if Lokki was to be believed, killed all the Avengers of her universe. Yet the android had teleported the other soldier.

"Why the hell did you send him?!" Rogers rounded on Fen, grabbing for the android's hands in order to stop the AI machine putting the phase-cloak back up. Overwhelmed and furious, he hardly cared or noticed the swear word that passed his lips. "I'm the...you...you just sent that man to his likely death! I…"

"Yes. The odds are against that man's survival. But even if I sent you instead, it would still be the same risk." Fen countered, its orange-ochre eyes boring into Rogers. "Besides, had I sent you and Lokki discovered that fact…it wouldn't matter whether you escaped unharmed or not, or even if it was necessary, she would destroy me." The android trailed off, while Rogers gave Fen a peculiar look. One that the android deciphered easily. "I may not be alive or sentient in a traditional sense, but I would rather avoid dismantlement of any kind. It would be a bugger putting myself back together."

"Couldn't you…" Rogers started to reply, about to say something along the lines of just getting Stark or someone to help in that scenario, but bit his tongue. Partly because it was a callous remark. Mostly though because he remembered what universe he was in. Lokki's universe. The Avengers were all dead here. Himself, Stark, Banner, Natasha...each of them had been killed according to the mischief goddess. Rogers glanced over at Fen, his forehead and brow creased. After a moment he shook his head, while the android finished inputting the commands to raise the shield-cloak around the ship. "Still, you should've sent me. If the enemy in that ship is highly dangerous, I..."

"Grrrh." A low growl interrupted the Avenger, and Rogers tensed and turned towards where the sound came from. His cheeks paled when the bear from the library sauntered forward, eyeing him with the intensity of a predator. Its growling continued until it reached the Avenger and the android, once there the bear sat down and peered unblinkingly at the two. "Rawgrrhhh."

"Now is not the time, Nar." Fen spoke to the bear who lifted its head, exposing its neck and the speckled band wrapped around it, a crystalline bauble dangling from the band. A misty green decahedron, the bauble drew Rogers' attention, not least because the bear - Nar - was making every effort to show it off. "No." Fen grabbed and pulled back Rogers' arm when the Avenger reached for the band. "Not now."

"Ggrawhgrrr." Nar growled at Fen, voicing its displeasure at the android using noises that were unintelligible to Rogers, but which the android understood. "Rawrgrrhh! Grrrr Garggh, hrrr.."

"It is too...things are not as expected." The android replied, still holding the Avenger's arm and glancing at him in between every few words. Actions that ticked Rogers who was reaching the end of his patience. Between the attack on the Sanctum and not knowing what happened there, and being unable to prevent Fen sending the other soldier into danger rather than him, Rogers was more than annoyed.

Too annoyed to endure the half unintelligible argument going on between the android and the bear. He ripped his arm out from Fen's grip, and backed up a few steps, tensing when the android moved to grab him again. An attempt he evaded by backing up further, placing a handful of feet between him at the two.

"Look, whatever that is...whatever secrets…" Rogers grimaced and started to reach for his shield when Fen appeared to approach. The android quickly thought better of it and just situated itself to prevent Nar from walking to the Avenger. "All I want is to make sure the soldiers who were transported here from my universe are safe and get them home."

"See?" Fen turned to Nar. "She didn't send him. And it wasn't a _time_ rift. He speaks of his 'universe' not his 'time.'"

"Hhhrrrr." Nar grumbled, shifting his attention to Rogers and scrutinizing him closely. The band and bauble once more hidden beneath its fur. "Hawgrr...urrrhh. Hraaan, ghrr."

"I know." The android scowled, grumbling. "He used a com from his universe." Fen paused, listening to the bear's growl-speak and nodding along, no longer defensive against Nar. The two of them instead seemed annoyed at Rogers now, and the Avenger suddenly felt exposed. Guilty. It hadn't been too difficult to understand the conversation based on Fen's replies, and the looks the two flashed at him cinched it.

The two were talking about the void-black ship and how it had tracked them, using the signal from Rogers' com. The Avenger pulled a face and opened his mouth to explain himself, when a shockwave ripped through the ship and nearly knocked him off his feet.

"What…" Rogers' throat went dry when he noticed the black-void that was the arboretum windows, all the stars having vanished. Disappeared into a black nothingness. Even as he observed it as such, he understood that wasn't what happened. The stars hadn't gone anywhere - rather the other ship with its dark exterior had pulled up and stopped just outside the arboretum.

* * *

0

"Which one of you motherfuckers has Steve?" Bucky growled and lifted his arm from the hood, his sharp leer locking first on Morfield then on Mordo. When neither answered he repeated his question and brought his mechanized arm down again, smashing the engine hood even further. The man in the driver seat jumped at the action while the back seat passenger hardly flinched, drawing Bucky's attention.

Since receiving news about his friend's disappearance via Stark, the billionaire having contacted him after failing to track Rogers through the com device the inventor had given, Bucky had sought after his friend. And though the billionaire hadn't given much information to him about what Rogers had been doing before vanishing, Bucky assumed it was about the Statue. That's what it'd been about that morning.

Thus, he had headed to SHIELD's offices, ready to stake out or storm them, whichever was needed, for news of his friend. Before he could decide on either - his choice heavily leaning towards the latter one - Barton had intercepted him. The retired Avenger had also been contacted by Stark and by Natasha, the woman much more informative than the billionaire. It was from Barton that Bucky learned that an offshoot of SHIELD was involved and that one of its agents should have information. An agent Morfield.

"Well?" Bucky growled, removing his arm again from the hood and instead maneuvered forward and grabbed the driver's side door. Wrenching it open, he glowered at the driver, ready to pull the agent out if the man so much as thought about pressing the accelerator. "Where's Steve?"

"I...I don't…" Morfield stared up at the Winter Soldier, his heart thumping loudly against his ribcage and his gray eyes filling with fear. Trepidation.

Noticing the look, Bucky bristled, mixed feelings running through him. For the past few years, as he adjusted from being the Winter Soldier to being himself again, he'd encountered people who knew him only as the brainwashed puppet of Hydra. Each one had given that identical look. And each time it brought up the same torrent of emotions in him. Impossible to describe and a torture to feel. Steve Rogers had helped him through it each occasion, and it'd been over a year since the last time he encountered such a look.

"Hey." Came Barton's voice through the earbud com-speaker the ex-Avenger had given him before they started their stakeout. The sound drew Bucky away from the tumultuous emotions brewing up from Morfield's fearful stare. "Stay sharp. His friend is up to something."

"I know, I'm not..." Bucky started to snap back at Barton, irritated but also glad for the interruption from his guilt-ridden thoughts. His words faltered once he turned his gaze to the backseat passenger or rather to the now empty backseat. Mordo had taken advantage of the momentary hiccup of Bucky's attention to portal away, leaving Morfield to face the Winter Soldier alone. "Mother fucker." Bucky muttered, scowling at the empty seat before turning his attention back to the agent.

"I…" Morfield swallowed, shaking as Bucky pulled him from the vehicle although the fear in his gray eyes had lessened. Replaced instead by a wary caution, something that took the Winter Soldier a while to notice. Once he did, a crease formed on Bucky's forehead and on the swathe of skin above the sellion of his nose.

'_That's a first…'_ Thought Bucky, confused by the change in the agent's demeanor. The fear in the other man's eyes - he had expected it to remain strong, not to lessen, especially not without any effort on his part to assuage it. It was…Eyes widening suddenly and darting over the agent's face, Bucky bristled. Anger rushed through him as snippets of memory flashed across his thoughts. Snippets that included a man identical to the agent, a man who had helped Hydra experiment on him. "You...you're one of…."

"Hey. We should make our way back." Barton interrupted, stepping up next to Bucky. Having been watching from a distance, the retired Avenger had noticed the shift in the other man and had approached, his instincts screeching at him. Shouting even louder in his head when he heard Bucky growl that the agent was Hydra, one of the ones that had infiltrated SHIELD in the past. Barton tensed, eyeing Morfield closely after Bucky's revelation. "...We'll question him back at the tower."

"...Fine." Responded Bucky after a moment or two of thought, his mechanized hand clasped tightly as a vise around the agent's arm.


End file.
